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Friday, May 13, 2011

#1 Fan Black Flag 1986 Tour Film Finally Made Available

Posted by on Fri, May 13, 2011 at 2:02 PM

Four days ago filmmaker Dave Markey released his rarely seen film about Black Flag's 1986 tour called Reality 86'd on Vimeo. Tons of footage of the psychedelic punker confusion that made up the last Black Flag tour with most of the usual suspects, plus footage of the late Joe Cole. This is the tour that bummed out hundreds of hardcore goons wanting to hear Damaged-era jams but were treated to ZZ Top's Eliminator each night before Black Flag took the stage with countless endless versions of "Louie Louie". Unfortunately the worst Black Flag lineup and a little heavy on Painted Willie & Gone, but a wonderful history lesson nonetheless.

As Markey himself puts it, "A crucial turning point in American underground rock. The end of the line for a trail blazing American band."

If youre cold, youre dead. If youre cool, youre halfway there.
  • If you're cold, you're dead. If you're cool, you're halfway there.

 

Comments (4) RSS

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I saw Black Flag early 1983 at Cleveland's "Pop Shop" Club. Awesome show, hung out with the back afterwards, even went with them to another show afterwards of a band that Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys was in. Then me and the Black Flag guys piled back in their Van and dropped me at my car and followed me to the Ohio Turnpike to show them how to get to Pittsburgh, their next gig... What memories...crazy.
I have a signed album from that night!
Posted by Bob21 on December 17, 2012 at 10:16 PM
3
Not the worst line up , In 85-86 Black Flag sounds really quickly on live compared with studio albums, this has been due largely to Anthony Martinez...
Posted by Loco del Coco on April 25, 2012 at 3:03 PM
2
I saw Black Flag twice around this time. In summer of 1985 in Ann Arbor and then again the following summer in Madison, Wisconsin at a club called Wally Gators. Both were very intense shows. The band used to carry their own P.A. They were incredibly loud, but the volume was so clean, that your ears didn't hurt or ring while it was going on. It was only after you left the venue that the ringing started and your realized just how loud it really was.

After the Madison show, I remember Rollins going to the sound board, throwing on the Go Go music and cranking it up. I have no memory of them playing ZZ Top before the show, but I think I may have missed the very beginning.

Later period BF definitely brought the Black Sabbath influence back into the indy/punk scene. A big influence on Grunge I imagine. Ginn has to be one of the most influential people in the history of American rock music since 1975. And Black Flag is kind of the Lewis and Clark of the modern American indy rock touring scene. They bushwhacked the entire path and many bands still use today.

Sadly, I think this aphorism also holds true: Pioneers get slaughtered. Settlers prosper.

A lot of settlers prospered on the back of Black Flag's pioneering efforts, while they kind of ran their thing into the ground and never got a financial windfall commensurate with their accomplishments and importance.
Posted by j-lon on May 14, 2011 at 11:14 AM
birdy num num 1
are you sad that you were not around to enjoy this...trivial musings like this make me laugh.

get in the van indeed.
Posted by birdy num num on May 13, 2011 at 4:43 PM

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