Images: Propagandhi, The Flatliners, War On Women February 20, 2014 at the Hawthorne Theater (Portland, OR)

Las Vegas can be a great place to see large touring acts, but unfortunately, we frequently get skipped by smaller and mid-level bands. Such was the case on the most recent Propagandhi tour supported by the Flatliners. Thankfully, I had some business to take care of in my hometown of Portland, Oregon anyway, and I was able to catch their show at the Hawthorne Theater.

Opening the show was Baltimore’s War on Women. They are a self-described “feminist hardcore punk band,” which very succinctly sums them up. Though previously unfamiliar with them, I loved watching frontwoman Shawna Potter tear up the stage like she was demon possessed.

Next up was Toronto’s The Flatliners. Coincidentally, I first saw these guys in Portland a couple years ago and they have been on repeat in my car stereo continuously since then. They opened the show with Cavalcade‘s “Here Comes Treble,” before moving into new song “Caskets Full” off of Dead Language. During their too-short set they managed to also play “Resuscitation of the Year,” and “Drown in Blood” which the crowd happily sang along to. The rest of the show was devoted to songs from Cavalcade (“Carry The Banner,” “Monumental”) and The Great Awake (“Eulogy,” “Mother Theresa Chokeslams the World”). Though I was a little disappointed not to hear anything from Destroy to Create, I wasn’t really expecting it as their sound has diverged more and more from that album. They finished out their set with “Shithawks,” which of course, made the crowd go nuts.

Closing out the night was headliner Propagandhi, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I am most familiar with Propagandhi’s early record Less Talk More Rock, and was excited to hear “Apparently I’m a ‘PC Fascist'” and “Nation States” played back-to-back. Most of the set was devoted to the newest album Failed States, like “Note to Self,” “Cognitive Suicide,” and “Unscripted Moment” which pleased the extremely tightly packed crowd. Supporting Caste, and Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes both also received a large amount of play time, with “Dear Coach’s Corner” opening the show, and “Fuck the Border” getting the crowd stage-diving. Las Vegas’ large, very corporate venues that I am accustomed to such as the House of Blues and The Joint never allow such concert hi-jinks so I’m always pleasantly surprised to go somewhere new and see a large crowd enjoying themselves in this way.

-Aaron Mattern | https://www.flickr.com/photos/akmofoto/