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7 Thoughts About Against Me! Live

1. Still touring in support of New Wave, the best album of 2007, the Gainesville-based punks showed no signs of tiring, playing as if this were the first gig in their hometown after a six-year absence.

2. Live, the songs off the Butch Vig–produced album sounded spectacular, all beefy riffs, sweaty shouting, and huge heart. If released, say, five years ago, when the music business wasn’t in such obvious chaos, New Wave might’ve been a game changer a la Nevermind or London Calling. Now we’ll never know. BTW, is it time to pour out a 40 for the game-changing album?

3. When guitarist James Bowman sang Tegan Quin’s lines on “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart,” the band proved once and for all that it is possible for a guy to take on the female half of a duet and not sound ridiculous. That said, I’m eagerly awaiting Neil Diamond’s remake of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” featuring Tom Jones.

4. The only place someone should ever be allowed to stage-dive while wearing a backpack is at an Agnostic Front gig on K2.

5. Punk-rock postulate No. 254: The more ludicrously an audience member dances onstage, the less effort will be put into catching him once he dives back into the crowd.

6. Punk-rock postulate No. 255: The above does not apply to girls. Knock yourselves out, ladies.

7. Seeing more than 50 fans rush a concert stage, post–Dimebag Darrell, in order to enthusiastically surround/embrace a frontman (in this case, Tom Gabel) and sing along to encore “We Laugh at Danger (and Break All the Rules)” is enough to put a lump in the throat of the most jaded spectator.

Against Me! – “We Laugh at Danger (and Break All the Rules)”
https://www.youtube.com/embed/TpxJQ9VHXuQ