Apes of the State at Ivory Blacks, Glasgow (gig review)

When you think about folk-punk, you don’t normally imagine Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It’s a rural town where most of the folk are Amish. Visitors often go there looking for handmade goods, and the peace and quiet of a pastoral life. But it’s also home to folk punk musicians Apes of the State, who shattered any peace and quiet like a plate glass window, last night at Ivory Blacks.

If you’re new to, or curious about the folk-punk scene, it’s important to understand that the quality of a gig shouldn’t be judged by the technical quality of the musicians. This isn’t the London Philharmonic.

What is important is that through April Hartman’s cracking voice, you could feel the love, rage, and unapologetic freedom stirring at the heart of every lyric.

They were backdropped by a flag depicting an ouroboros chopped off at the head and the words, ‘They Can’t Kill Us All’, the title of their newest song.

Apes of the State was supported by Cheap Dirty Horse and Sister Wife Sex Strike with the bands trading members throughout the gig. The encore tune had a musician from every band on stage.

Cheap Dirty Horse, though popular enough to headline, maintained their position as important scaffolding in the UK punk scene providing foreign bands with a soft landing on British soil.

Apes of the State were true to the folk-punk sound. Daniel Ebersole (or Danielin the Mandolin) delivered two spirited solos on his instrument. Mollie Swartz played a lively violin. And Ian Cornele held it all together on drums. Meanwhile, people were thrashing about in a mosh pit almost as big as the crowd itself and, more than once, Hartman dove in with her microphone to sing while crowd surfing, lifted by the hands of her many adoring fans.

If you’re curious about folk-punk, but think it might be a poor decision, let Apes of the State ‘be your next poor decision’ with their song ‘I Listened’.