Against Me! @ Neptune Theatre

Against Me!
Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
03.25.14

Review by T. Monte

The barricades were up and ready for Against Me!’s pounding and heartfelt performance Tuesday night at the Neptune Theatre, making room for not only the push and pull of the crowd, but for the tenacity with which this band continues to knock down their own walls and pave their own path. Forming in Gainesville, Florida in the late 90’s, Against Me! helped solidify a burgeoning punk scene in the southeast in a place where kids were still looking for a voice. I know because I was that kid, sweating it out in line at the State Theatre in St. Pete, waiting to see Hot Water Music put it all on the line. As the band evolves, however, the message and purpose has not been lost on them. Everybody is free to find and be themselves, barriers or no.

Lead singer Laura Jane Grace’s veracity spans across their clutch of albums, and her bold and fierce lyrics come knocking once again in their latest release, Transgender Dysphoria Blues. Initially said to be about a transsexual prostitute, Grace goes on record to say that this album indeed expresses the struggles and truth of her transition from male to female. With a few songs down, Grace stops the show to thank the Seattle crowd, happy to have so much support, and offers a few words of her own advice: you can’t make anyone else happy until you are happy with yourself. But, before things could get too mushy, Grace kicks off the set again with Walking is Still Honest. In lieu of Tegan Quin, Against Me!’s performance of Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart was assisted by Laura Stevenson, who opened the show along with Cheap Girls.

Against Me! has proven time and again that they have the guts to stick around and make unabashed music. Along with singer Grace and guitarist James Bowman, new bassist Inge Johansson and drummer Atom Willard are nothing short of veterans themselves. And, while the Transgender Dysphoria Blues tour may be a first for the group, they will undoubtedly find fuel for their next fire, burn brighter, and continue on.

Setlist:

FUCKMYLIFE666
Cliché Guevara
New Wave
Walking Is Still Honest
Unconditional Love
I Still Love You Julie
True Trans Soul Rebel
Don’t Lose Touch
I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Turn Those Clapping Hands into Angry Balled Fists
Pretty Girls (The Mover)
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Miami
Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart (with Laura Stevenson)
Dead Friend
Thrash Unreal
Black Me Out

Photos By Sunny Martini