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Gallows Bring Their Snarling Punk to Broadway

“Fuck this stage bullshit” howled Frank Carter, vocalist for U.K. hardcore punk quintet Gallows,as he leaped off stage and carved his way through a pack of sweatyhardcore kids at Nokia Theater last night (Oct. 15). Following a solideffort from opening act, the Briggs, the punk faithful assumed thecircle pit formation for what became a brawl of sheer chaos thatblurred the line between stage and audience. Like a rabid canine,Carter unleashed a blistering vocal assault that kept the pit movingwith “Abandon Ship” and “In the Belly of a Shark.” But it was a coverof Black Flag’s “Nervous Breakdown” that created the biggest stir fromcrowd. “If you see me go down, pick me the fuck up”, the shirt-lesstattooed frontman emphatically shouted as he proceeded to drop the micand slam dance his way around the pit.

The performanceculminated with “Orchestra of Wolves” as Carter laid it all out on theline, rejoining his band on stage in time to double fist two mic’s andtackle his own roadie before exiting the stage with his shoulders bentin complete and utter exhaustion. But even as legendary so-cal punks, Bad Religionplayed from their expansive catalogue to a pact house, it was the crowdparticipation of the Gallows performance that was the highlight of thenight. An anthemic mix of early ’80s hardcore and pure stage aggressionthat made watching this group of Brit punks like watching a pack ofveracious wolves devoir its prey.

We asked:Gallows vocalist Frank Carter is known for living a straight-edgelifestyle. If you had to give up one vice that you can’t live without,what would it be?