Remember when punk didn’t suck?
Me neither, but there was a time when it didn’t.
Back in the day, when “London’s Burning” was reshaping the way people listened to rock music, and Iggy was slicing himself up on stage while the Sex Pistols were screaming about bringing down the Queen, punk had more depth.
It’s been a long fall to the stagnant trash that is the current punk scene with bands like Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World wasting everyone’s time and taste and giving a generation the excuse to say it listens to punk.
Enter Against Me! Taking to the stage Thursday, March 17 at Twiropa, the band kept it real and brought a genuine sense of excitement to the music and show.
Watching lead singer and guitarist Tom Gabel pour his sweat into the audience as he belted out the lyrics to “Reinventing Axel Rose” and seeing Andrew Seward throw his bass around his head while Warren Oakes beat his drums mercilessly, you couldn’t help but feel good – and want to hit something.
The small crowd seemed to dig it, too, with a mix of high school punk rejects, collegiate hipsters and the hardcore pushing, jumping and screaming at one another as they surged to the stage.
The rest of the crowd stood around staring at the mass of energy on stage like they were at a post-modernist art gallery opening. Lame.
While Gabel belted out near unintelligible lyrics to a few of the band’s classics and a lot of new material, it was Seward who stole the show with his energy on stage. Jumping around, pumping his fists, yelling, screaming and playing his bass, Seward took the band to the next level, bringing a real sense of energy and excitement to the show.
Gabel and James Bowman both helped to round out the sound with strong guitar work, delivering pounding riffs and build ups along with frantic, crazed strumming.
Although the band has drawn some flack from the purist camp in the scene for signing on to Fat Wreck Chords, it’s hard to see why anyone would want to knock the guys.
Their performance had the kind of personality and connection with the crowd that all great bands have and a “you can’t fake the funk” sound.
Gabel has gotten used to attacks from those in the scene who view the band as selling out, but he countered after the show that “you have to do what you have to do to survive … we want to continue to be a band.”
And watching the band, you couldn’t help but feel that if this band does go commercial, it could go the way of some of the big pop punk acts of the past decade.
The band has turned down some deals from major record labels, but it doesn’t remain out of the question, Gabel said after the show. He feels that the record industry is going through some major changes, so it’s an almost-anything-goes mentality at this point.
Gabel believes that the album could be headed toward extinction, with the single becoming the key to the artists’ success.
While Gabel questions the future of the industry, its hard to see the band changing. No matter what happens, the band will continue doing things its way and sticking to its guns.
Brandon Holmes can be reached at [email protected].
