By Malcolm Lasky
Photos by Alexsandra Wiciel
Boston’s Royale is an incredibly beautiful venue; it seems almost unfit for the site of a punk rock show. The staff of the venue were moving out sofas and tables before the show in preparation for the madness that was sure to ensue.
First up was Disaster Strikes, a local Boston hardcore outfit. They played to an unfortunately sparse crowd, but their singer barely seemed to notice, jumping around and throwing the mic in the face of anyone willing to sing along. Sadly, their set seemed over before it began, but their socially conscious stage banter set the tone for the rest of the show.
Confession time: I barely know Propagandhi beyond name recognition, and I only know a few RVIVR songs. The reason for the long drive out to Boston was the Baltimore-based feminist hardcore band War on Women. On wax, they’re all teeth; a band with a well-crafted and pointed message. Live, they deftly straddle the line between forceful and joyful. Vocalist Shawna Potter sounds like she’s having time of her life, but she’s also so full of righteous anger that, given the chance, she would feast on your entrails. Potter possesses a very Jello Biafra-like taste for the theatrical; acting out the lyrics of each song. Nothing illustrated that more than when the band played “Broken Record,” in which Potter started throwing lines from street harassers into the face of an unsuspecting man in the crowd, or when during “Roe v. World” she staged an abortion right in the face of an audience member. War on Women is one of the best up-and-coming punk acts, and they showed it in Boston.
RVIVR were up next. Despite having very serious messages, they were the most upbeat band of the night. Their brand of pop-punk social commentary was very well received by the now-sizeable crowd. At one point, singer/guitarist Erica Freas made specific mention of the fact that it was unfortunate how few people had shown up for Disaster Strikes, but congratulated them on an excellent, high-energy set, regardless. Freas seemed to have a smile plastered on her face for the entirety of their set, which made for a friendly atmosphere. RVIVR also had the best sound of the night; it’s the closest I’ve heard a band match how they sound on record in a live setting.
By the time Propagandhi got onstage, the room was completely packed. Neither the band nor the audience wasted time getting to it. The last time Propagandhi played Boston was a mere two years ago, but being there you’d have thought it was more like five. It was one of those shows where from the first note you’re pinned against the stage barricade and aren’t released until the final note. Bassist Todd Kowalski, in particular, seemed to have an infinite amount of energy (and sweat) to throw back at an incredibly enthused audience. Due to the venue wanting to close down (so they could clean up for the bar-hopping crowd), Propagandhi’s set was sadistically short. However, they made the most of every minute of it and were even granted a one-song encore. Even after that, the crowd pleaded for them to keep playing.
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