Black Flag, The Ritz. 27th January 2023

First gig of 2023. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have your ears battered in a hot room. Doing the battering tonight are punk pioneers Black Flag. I’ve never seen them live before. Honestly I’ve come to them pretty late, despite knowing a few songs here and there. Calling them classics seems reductive for a band like this. Let’s be honest though, with only one original member, it’s not quite the same. The songs though are ferocious. It’s not long before the admittedly thin crowd get going and fill in the gaps. I’d be jumping around too if I hadn’t broken my ankle (not at a gig). Instead I’m stood back at a safe distance as the bass rumble of ‘Can’t Decide’ rolls along with Ginn, letting loose over the top. The crowd surfing starts immediately and there’s a little kid down the front on their dads shoulders punching the air like they’re trying to do some serious damage. Bloody brilliant. Okay a lot of the set has one speed. Hold on fucking tight, but stuff like ‘Annihilate This Week’ is a bit bouncier and sounds amazing. Mike Vallely’s vocals are glorious. Rich and powerful over what’s a blistering sound. These songs though are all about the bass for me, it drives everything. Although it is fun to watch Ginn lose himself in the odd solo, his head rolling round on his shoulders. ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ is the first out from Damaged. This is really what I’m here for. Vallely goading the crowd. Total chaos. ‘Six Pack’ gets the extended treatment and sounds brutal. As it ends in a squall of feedback, there’s a pause before they tear into ‘Depression’ and the pit goes off, even more! There’s no chatter between songs, often barely a breath, but they do seem to collect for a second, as the instrumental intro of ‘Slip It In’ marks the half way. Gun is lost again. So am I. So is the kid on their dads shoulders. ‘I Can See You’ does drag a bit, but ‘Room 13’ fixes that with those pounding scatter shot drums. Vallely final speaks and everyone gets introduced before they close out with ‘TV Party’, a devastating ‘Rise Above’, which lifts the roof and a rather odd if not brilliant cover of ‘Louie Louie’. The kid is still giving it everything in the pit and my ankle holds out remarkably well. Good start to 2023.