Against Me are without a doubt the most talked about punk
band of the past ten years. Whether it’s because of fans accusing them of
selling out when they signed to a major label, numerous line up changes or when
lead singer Tom Gabel came out as a transgender person and became Laura Jane
Grace. None of that ever mattered to me, as long as they continue to make great
music I don’t care what else they do. I had only ever had the pleasure of
seeing Against Me live once before, supporting Frank Turner at the Hammersmith
Apollo in 2012. It seemed like an eternity since then and when they announced a
UK tour this year I snapped up a ticket as soon as they were put on sale. Here
is what I thought of their sold out show at the Electric Ballroom in Camden.
The opening act for Against Me was from a lady from
Vancouver, Canada named Billy Pettinger who goes by the stage name of Billy The
Kid. The only thing I knew about Billy The Kid before this gig was that Frank
Turner (from the Olympics) produced her new album (I didn’t even know Billy was
a her) so I expected some good folk music. I don’t know how many people at the
Electric Ballroom were aware of her music but she got a great response as she
made her way on stage. From the very start I could see how much she loved being
on stage playing her songs and her joy was infectious. I love the way punk and
folk music go hand in hand, I guess it’s due to then anti-establishment nature
of the music and doing things on your own terms. Billy The Kids music
definitely had a feel of doing things her own way which I really enjoyed. An
obvious highlight of her set was when Mr Frank Turner himself joined Billy on
stage for a song; obviously this received a big cheer. What I really loved
about this performance was that it didn’t feel like there was a star on stage,
it was just a mate of Billy’s who joined her on stage for a song. I guess
that’s another great connection between punk and folk, there isn’t a them as us
feeling between the performers and the crowd, it’s a we’re all in this together
feeling. Billy The Kids set was hugely enjoyable, a great set of songs and
excellent charisma on the stage. I’ll definitely be checking her out more and
would recommend her to anyone who likes well written, honest music.
Now on to Against Me. As a rule I try my best not to swear
in this blog unless I’m quoting lyrics. Unfortunately I’m not that good of a
wordsmith to explain just how good Against Me were. They were FUCKING (sorry
Mum) amazing. Notice how I used capitals to really emphasise just how great
they were. From the opening chords of FUCKMYLIFE666 to the closing of We Laugh
At Danger (And Laugh At All The Rules) it was a great big punk rock party. By
the third song Cliché Guevara I could feel my voice starting to go I was
singing so loudly. It felt to me like one big punk rock celebration, everyone
was having the greatest time and there were smiles all around. I stood amazed
at how this band that started with a man playing acoustic guitar in libraries
in Gainesville Florida had how become this punk rock juggernaut, loved the
world over. It’s certainly well deserved, playing over twenty songs without a
dud mixed it at all and they didn’t even play Reinventing Axl Rose which for me
is the greatest song ever written. I was surprised by crowd reactions to some
of the songs; songs that I expected to get massive reactions such as the hugely
singable Don’t Lose Touch got fairly muted reactions compared to some of the
newer material. Black Me Out, which for me was one of the weaker tracks (if there
is such thing as a weak Against Me song) on the newest album Transgender
Dysphoria Blues got a massive reaction from the crowd, though to be fair I have
a new found love for that song after hearing it live. During the set Laura
brought out Billy The Kid to duet on the song Borne On The FM Airwaves. This
was one of thebest duets I had ever witnessed. Billy was clearly completely
made up to be there and was all over the place during the song, at one point
scaling some scaffolding at the side of the stage and at another point diving
into the crowd, wonderfully energetic performance. One of the biggest
highlights for me actually came in the brief intermission before the encore
when the crowd had a massive singalong of Sink Florida Sink before the band
came back on. That moment will stay with me for a long long time. A part of me
kind of wish the band didn’t play that when they came back on and just joined
us in an acapella version. As with the best punk rock parties they don’t wind
down and come to a gradual halt, they stop dead and leave a crowd breathless,
covered in sweat and with the big grins on their faces. This is definitely how
I felt at the end of the show. It really was fucking amazing; there was a
strong feeling that I had just witnessed something incredibly special.
As I made my way back home I reflected on what had been one
of the best nights of my life and what a huge sense of pride I had.
Specifically the amount of pride I had in being a member of the punk rock scene
in the UK. I absolutely love just how accepting it is a community. I think in
any other scene if a big star came out as a transgender person they would lose
a lot of fans. For example imagine if Eminem came out and said that he always
felt inside that he was a woman and would be making the transformation do you
think that would be accepted? No chance on earth! I can’t imagine he would even
be accepted as a homosexual. In our punk scene when Laura bravely decided to
come out to me it didn’t there was even a need to accept it. From my experiences
it was just a case of “okay cool, you’re Laura now, are you still going to be
in this amazing band that is so important to so many people and more
importantly are you still going to be an awesome person? Yes – brilliant!”
That’s exactly how it should be and that why I am so proud of my punk rock
brothers and sisters. The world could learn a thing of two from this world that
I love so much.
Find out more about Billy The Kid here: https://www.facebook.com/BillyTheKid
Find our more about Against Me! here: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstMe
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