Sure, you’ve seen viral dance videos from the New York subway, but what about an actual punk show? On January 6th, San Francisco bands False Flag and Surprise Privilege put on a guerilla-style show on a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train. The bands alerted their fans 3 days in advance via an Instagram post.
You’d think organizing a big show in such a unique venue would be a massive undertaking, but set up was surprisingly hassle-free. “We just paid our BART fee and walked on,” Cody, bass player for Surprise Privilege, said.
On the big day, they all brazenly took their instruments onto BART along with a generator. “We got plenty of looks because we were carrying a bunch of drums and bass,” said False Flag bassist, Pretty. “Most smart people wanted to get the f— away from us.” Sans the commuters running from the cacophony, the band estimates they packed about 300 people into the train car for the performance.
The show was supposed to last the round-trip journey from the 16th Street Mission Station in San Francisco through the Dublin/Pleasanton stop (about 45-50 minutes). But each band was only able to get through 6 songs a piece before the event was shut down at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, due to an obstructed door. Stick it to the man all you want, but fire safety first!
“The goal is we get to play one song.”
[Editor’s note: This on-the-scene reporting by Gabriel Mack is the BEST! Also, we feel strangely more confident about the youths, now.]
In true punk fashion, Surprise Privilege and False Flag have played incredibly DIY venues before. Last summer, they did an impromptu show in the middle of Golden Gate Park. Fans happily moshed in the fog-filled woods. “We have been trying to play more unique spaces to make the scene more exciting and refreshing,” said Cody. “We’re sick of venues,”False Flag guitarist, Strong, said. They wanted their shows to feel more like special events than cookie-cutter rock concerts.
BART officials have not responded to requests for comment about the performance.
“We’re not planning on stopping,” Pretty said.
The bands say more shows are coming, and will be announced via their Instagram accounts. This is all part of a DIY movement they call Real Bay Shit.
If you’d like to check out more music both False Flag and Surprise Privilege can be found on BandCamp.
