This shot captures Thomas Barnett of Strike Anywhere completely airborne at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach, CA, on May 11, 2022. The frame isolates Thomas launching himself outward mid-song, with guitarist Matt Smith locked in directly behind him. To capture the actual velocity of their live sets, I used a slower shutter speed, dragging the ambient venue lights to create clean, abstract color trails that mirror the frenetic movement on stage.

Since emerging from Richmond, Virginia in the early 2000s, Strike Anywhere has maintained an uncompromising lane in melodic hardcore, tightly binding fast, anthemic instrumentation with targeted political activism. Their visual identity and lyrical focus have long centered on workers’ rights, anti-authoritarianism, and structural resistance—themes visually anchored by their classic Iron Front-inspired three-arrows logo.

The performance that night drew heavily from their definitive catalog across standard-setting releases like Change Is a Sound and Exit English. Backed by the driving instrumentation of Matt Smith, Garth Petrie, Eric Kane, and Mark Miller, this print stands as a sharp, kinetic record of one of the underground scene’s most urgent live frontmen at peak energy.

Setlist from May 11, 2022:

Chalkline, We Amplify / Blaze, I’m Your Opposite Number, Timebomb Generation, Frontier Glitch, To the World, You’re Fired, Allies, Dress the Wounds, Refusal, Infrared, Sunset on 32nd.