Images: Against Me!, Creepoid, Venus De Mars and All the Pretty Horses August 22, 2014 at Brooklyn Bowl

To me, there is no question about Against Me! being completely, unabashedly and blissfully…punk rock.

In fact, for a generation of many fans born in the 1980s, more than any other band, Against Me! defined what it means to be punk rock in the new millennium. Following up a series of excellent EPs and 7”s with the release of Reinventing Axl Rose in 2001, (arguably the best debut for any band in the last 15 years), a subset of an entire generation whose mainstream version of punk was Avril and Simple Plan were exposed to this brash, uncompromising, Billy Bragg-on-steroids style of music with lyrics calling for anarchy and activism. That’s bound to make an impression in a 21st century landscape of popular punk rock songs about the lifestyles of people both rich and famous.

When frontwoman Laura Jane Grace sang, or more accurately – yelled, the lyrics to “Baby, I’m an Anarchist” you might not have leapt off the couch to start a revolution yourself, but you certainly felt one was possible. That sense of possibility they instilled meant they rapidly grew a very dedicated fanbase, myself included. Pretty much everything the band did for the next decade was held under intense scrutiny, something bound to happen to bands who reach fans on such a personal level. But after their amazing performance at the Brooklyn Bowl last weekend, their first headlining show in Vegas in over 7 years, can I just say that I’m so glad people seem to be over the “Against Me! sold out” bullshit and are ready to just enjoy the music?

Seeing such a diverse group of people scream “Do you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?” from the band’s “I Was a Teenage Anarchist” was so cathartic it bordered on transcendent. The audience, many of whom were comped free tickets by Grace herself during an earlier meet-and-greet session at Zia Records, weren’t jaded or standing aloof during this or any moment during the band’s set. It’s refreshing to see a group that has worked as hard as Against Me! has, including laboring for over two years on their latest album, greeted with such joy from the fans, who came ready to sing along with songs like “Sink Florida Sink” and “We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules),” both played during the encore. You could tell there was a slight divide in favorite albums – the fans singing loudest to New Wave’s title track were often different than those pumping fists to “Turn Those Clapping Hands into Angry Balled Fists” from As the Eternal Cowboy – but the love for the band shined throughout. Bearded org folks and spiked mohawk punks put arms around each other to drunkenly provide the “whoa ohs” of “Walking is Still Honest” and clap their hands to “Don’t Lose Touch.”

Of course, for those that haven’t been following the band lately, there was obviously something different about Against Me! compared to their last headlining gig in Vegas. That’s right, Atom Willard of Rocket from the Crypt and Inge Johansson from The (International) Noise Conspiracy are in the band now, and they bring with them a massive dose of kinetic energy. Johanssonin particular is just a joy to watch on stage, spending the entire set thrashing around like a man possessed. The band, which also features awesome longtime Against Me! guitarist James Bowman, really seems to feed off the crowd energy now and there was no shortage of that. Frontwoman Laura Jane Grace also seems to have more energy than I’ve seen of her in the past. Against Me! used to be the kind of band where the crowd went nuts while the band stayed subdued. But now Grace, all smiles, interacts with the crowd and I particularly like seeing her get to move around with the mic on parts of songs where she isn’t playing guitar, such as the verses on one of my favorite AM! tunes, the relatable “Pretty Girls (The Mover)” from Searching for a Former Clarity.

And while it was great to hear classics like “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong,” “Thrash Unreal” and “How Low” live again, the real treats were the tracks from their latest album Transgender Dysphoria Blues. The rollicking title track, brash “Black Me Out” and confessional set opener “FUCKMYLIFE666” sounded even better live than on record, and it’s great to already see so many people already knowing the words and singing along. I do wish the band would bring “Bamboo Bones,” (by far the best track from the extremely underrated White Crosses LP) back into their set, but it feels petty to have such a small complaint about such a fantastic performance.

In direct support was Philadelphia noise rock band Creepoid. The vibe of the audience, which was miserably slim at this point, took a turn for the subdued during their set. My friend James described the group as “quintessential shoegaze – a bunch of musicians staring at their feet while the crowd stands still, arms crossed,” and I have to agree. The best way I can describe their music is droning, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but plays a lot better live if you’ve already learned the tunes in advance. When the band harmonized, they sounded great, and I loved the way they ended their set, punishing their instruments in a way that put Marty McFly’s performance of “Johnny B Goode” to shame.

Glam rockers Venus De Mars & All the Pretty Horses kicked off the night to a nearly-empty room, but you wouldn’t know it from their energy. I went into the show not knowing much about the band and I left their set feeling thoroughly impressed. Musically, the band isn’t really my style but the stage presence of De Mars more than made their set worth watching, particularly when she used a saw to produce a volcano of sparks. I might not rush out to buy their CD but I’d see them live again in a heartbeat.

-Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/

Against Me! setlist

FuckMyLife666
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
Cliché Guevara
New Wave
Walking Is Still Honest
High Pressure Low
I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Turn Those Clapping Hands into Angry Balled Fists
Black Me Out
Pretty Girls (The Mover)
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Don’t Lose Touch
White Crosses
True Trans Soul Rebel
How Low
Unconditional Love
Thrash Unreal
The Ocean
Shivers (Rowland S. Howard cover)
Rapid Decompression
Sink, Florida, Sink
We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)