I Wanna Be Anarchy

Riot Fest is amazing and definitely one of my favorite weekends of the year, but there are downsides to “working” it rather than just attending. The biggest downfall is that I never stay in one place for very long. With so many bands to check out and so many opportunities to photograph bands that I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would be able to photograph, I am constantly on the go and typically only stick around for two to three songs from each band that I see. It can get frustrating, especially when there are bands that I really wanted to see, like The Sex Pistols with Frank Carter filling in on vocals, but luckily for me, I live in the Twin Cities, and tours like this will come through town outside of Riot Fest weekend. The Sex Pistols stopped by The Fillmore in downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday night, and although I’d seen them a few weeks earlier, I was still so excited to see them live.

One band I didn’t have the chance to see at Riot Fest (because they weren’t on the lineup) but have been craving lately was the opening act, Starcrawler. This band is truly a sight to see and a pleasure to listen to. Their sound is glam-rock to the nines, bridging everything from punk to alt-rock to, in the case of Tuesday night’s show, country. Something slightly retro and vintage about elements of this band’s sound feels straight out of the 70s, but those elements are matched with more modern takes on music, which keeps them from falling into the “dated” category. When I saw Starcrawler at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas in 2024, I felt they really emphasized the punk edge of their sound. Looking back to 2023, when I saw them open for Bush, I recall them putting a bit more emphasis on the grungy aspects of their sound. This all makes sense, as both of those leanings fit the lineup, so why did I feel like they were leaning into a more country kind of style on Tuesday night? Obviously, that doesn’t match The Sex Pistols’ sound or anything like that, but it worked. It added a sense of swagger that made this already irresistible band absolutely addicting.

Led by Arrow de Wilde, it’s not just the band’s sound that is wild; it’s their show. It’s nothing as in-your-face as Gwar or ICP, but the energy radiating from this band is as amazing as it is exhilarating. It’s the kind of set where, at times, it’s hard for me to remember that I have a job to do when in the photo pit. Instead of taking pictures, I found myself just standing there and taking in the band one note at a time, a giant, cheesy smile stretched across my face. There’s no such thing as standing still for the members of this band. They are all over the place yet never miss a single note, which shows just how talented they are. Whether you get captivated by the dramatic look of Arrow de Wilde or fall addicted to the non-stop energy that seems to radiate from the other members of this band, there’s no way you can ignore Starcrawler when they’re on a stage, and that’s what will keep this band as a constant on my list of bands that I could see night after night and not get sick of.

We all know The Sex Pistols. Calling this band legendary is a painful understatement. Even if you don’t like their music, you can’t deny or turn a blind eye to this band’s importance. Sure, I could talk about how this wasn’t really the full Sex Pistols experience but, come on, that’s splitting hairs. Obviously, the famed Sid Vicious wasn’t going to come back from the grave to play a show and, honestly, after just hearing John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) speak for a few seconds at Riot Fest, I want nothing to do with that crabby old man. He was rude; he was straight-up mean and, honestly, if he’d been part of this show on Tuesday night, I probably wouldn’t have gone. Thankfully, he came through town the other week with his other group, and there’s so much drama around that man that there is no chance in hell that he would ever share the stage with the other members, but come on, three out of four of the living, original members of The Sex Pistols all on one stage just a few feet from my camera lens is pretty damn incredible, if you ask me.

Since Johnny Rotten isn’t part of The Sex Pistols’ current line-up, the band had to find a vocalist that could fit the style and really hold his own in such a legendary band. They found the perfect person in Frank Carter (of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Gallows, and Pure Love). Not only does Frank have the voice to do the band justice, but he also has the grace. I mentioned this briefly in my Riot Fest post, but long story short, Frank doesn’t take the spotlight during Sex Pistols shows. Okay, maybe he does, but he doesn’t mean to. There were many times throughout the thirteen-song set when you could see Frank physically shift to the back of the stage, letting Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock really bask in the spotlight. Although it was subtle throughout the night, it said volumes about not only the respect Frank Carter has for this band, but also his acknowledgment that, although he’s the frontman, this show, this tour, this band, is not about him. It’s about the guys who have been doing this since 1975 (which is before Frank Carter was even born).

1975. Just think about that. Where were you in 1975? I can tell you where I was, and that was absolutely nowhere. My mom was probably still in middle or high school then. For a band to be doing this since 1975- 51 years- is absolutely insane. You’d think that the spark would be gone by now. That playing hits like “God Save the Queen” and “Anarchy in the U.K.” would get a bit old and boring. Judging by what I saw on stage, that is not the case for this band. Whether it was a smile between members or a grin that stretched across the audience, you didn’t just see the members of this band having fun; you felt it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat through a band just going through the motions. No passion, no fire, no spark, just treating a performance like another day, another gig, another job. I would have given the members of The Sex Pistols a pass if they had done this. Honestly, it was just an honor to be in their presence, but that’s not what they gave me. They gave me heart, passion, and showed me that, even after all these years, they still love what they do. I can only dream that that was a small glimpse into my future and that I never lose the feeling of the magic that comes with doing this night after night.

I should have a lot more to say about this show. I suppose I could talk about the audience and how, although it was an older crowd, they weren’t afraid to get a bit rowdy and quickly surrounded Frank Carter with a circle pit when he leaped from the stage to the audience to perform for a few minutes. I could talk about the band giving men the boot from the pit so women could take it over during “No Feelings,” and how that was a great moment that wasn’t done just for optics like some other bands I’ve seen; it was done out of care and respect. There were the funny moments when Frank Carter addressed the audience, like when he was amping them up to get a bit wild but quickly added, “You don’t have universal healthcare here, so any mosh pit is risky,” and then there were the moments that had just the perfect amount of angst and energy to allow you to blow off a little bit of steam, whether that was obvious as you took to the pit or more subtle as you just breathed it all in. Long story short, this was one of those nights where I was working but, really, I wasn’t. I was lost in the magic, lost in the insane fact that this was my second time photographing The Sex Pistols in just a couple of weeks. It was one of those nights where I couldn’t help but think about how weird but amazing life can be.