Many concertgoers have those bands, you know the ones. The bands they don’t miss anytime they are within a three-hour drive radius. It doesn’t matter the season or the reason, they are going to see them play no matter what. For me, that band is Against Me!, hands down. Fortunately for me, Against Me! has three shows within my three-hour drive radius this summer, and the first one was Friday, June 22, 2018, in Cleveland at the Agora. It was a night for the books, for sure.
The Agora really is the perfect house for the energy and passion that only comes with a punk rock show. It is small enough to feel intimate but big enough that fans aren’t smashed into each other (at least not due to spacing issues), and the acoustics rule. No matter where you stand in the Agora, you have an awesome view of the stage and a killer vantage point for the sound. It’s never too loud, too overdone, or too gritty on the ears. And, with Laura Jane Grace on the mic, you want to able to hear and see everything as clearly as possible.
Bassist Andrew Seward has made his long-awaited return to the band in what can only be described as a “where the fuck have you been?” fashion. Previous bassist, Inge Johansson, did his part well, but the stage is clearly where Seward is comfortable being, as he gave 110% all night to the crowd. And the fans were over the moon to see him back up there. Everyone in the band seemed at home with each other, and the confidence from each of them was palpable.
On guitar, James Bowman always delivers an incredible set, and Friday was no exception. His backing vocals were also on point, and he sounded better than ever. Atom Willard could have his own article on just how fun he is to watch play, and it would be pages long. He is an absolute powerhouse behind the kit, never taking breaks, never stopping once even when the band was arranging for the next song, and always smiling. If there is one drummer who loves what he or she does more than Atom, I need them to come forward and prove it. He’s just so good.
Laura Jane Grace is always someone special on the stage, uniting a crowd as diverse as they come into one collective voice (with hand claps of course) to raise each other up and remind everyone of the power of music. Watching her Friday night was indescribable. She radiated confidence like nothing I have ever seen, commanding the crowd not with force, but with her guitar and her lyrics. Leading the band through a twenty-three song set that combined the best of their older stuff (and some deep cuts I never thought I’d get to see them play) with their latest recorded album, Shape Shift With Me, Laura Jane Grace oozed the energy and confidence of someone who truly embodies “a song and a stage is all I ever needed of a home.” She looked radiant, she sounded amazing, and the passion she radiated touched upon everyone in the crowd. She was in her element, with her family, and it was clear that we were all witnessing something special.
As previously mentioned, the band ripped through twenty-three songs, and seemed almost hesitant to end when they did. I’m sure they were tired, but none of them showed it. From the first notes of “FuckMyLife666,” the choruses and hooks of “New Wave” and “Dead Friend,” to the final echo of “Sink, Florida, Sink,” Against Me! had the rapt attention of the crowd, no matter their vantage point. The mosh pit was on all night as crowd surfer after crowd surfer approached the stage and went back in for more. Everyone seemed to know the words to every song, as occasionally voices from the crowd seemed to reverb louder than the ones on stage. No matter, as the band fed off the energy from the crowd and only went harder the louder we all got. Going to a concert can be a truly reciprocal experience, and that night was the embodiment of such.
The punk community is a family. And Cleveland did their absolute best to, once again, welcome Against Me! to the reunion. From watching old friends meet up in the crowd to seeing kids with their parents, sharing in the generational relatability of punk music and aesthetic, Against Me! did their absolute best to make sure everyone at the reunion had a good time, left with good memories, and maybe met a new cousin or two. It’s true what they say, live music has the power to heal, to unite, to reunite, and to allow like-minded people to meet where they may never have had the chance to without it. Against Me!, once again, delivered the night to Cleveland for not only unity in this crazy time we live in through the one Universal language that everyone, regardless of who they are, can understand and relate deeply to: music.
Setlist
FuckMyLife666
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
From Her Lips to God’s Ears (The Energizer)
Miami
Pretty Girls (The Mover)
New Wave
Up the Cuts
Jordan’s First Choice
Walking is Still Honest
Haunting, Haunted, Haunts
Delicate, Petite & Other Things I’ll Never Be
T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)
White People For Peace
Tonight We’re Gonna Give It 35%
Dead Friend
True Trans Soul Rebel
The Ocean
Don’t Lose Touch
I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Black Me Out
Encore:
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
Cliché Guevara
Sink, Florida, Sink
