Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Against Me!

What I am doing here is I am trying to alternate my blogs every other day or so between something about writing and something about my personal life. Today is personal life day so you could be in for anything. Art, Movies, Music, Sports, my pets... Who knows. Well, today I am going with music since I attended a wonderful show (concert) last night at a local club.

Me
Keep in mind I was in a band for years. We recorded, played countless shows and even got to do a little touring. I am sure I will fill you in on all of that in blogs to come, but I need to tell you that I am a bit of a jaded underground music nerd. So keep that in mind. These days I really only go to shows that I am sure are going to be pretty awesome in some way or another. I guess everyone is like that, but it is odd since I have been to so many shows over the last 16 years that I have literally seen thousands of bands.

Against Me!
Originally I didn't like this band very much and just to keep things straight, despite the odd name, the band is actually called "Against Me!". They seemed poppy punk and I was never into that. Then a friend introduced me to one song of their's called "Pints Of Guinness Make You Strong". This song is so emotionally driven it literally grabbed me by the heart strings. Yes, it is a little weird for me to like an Irish sounding song with a guy kind of barking over it, but wow... you can litterally feel the passion!


The End
So last night Against Me! came to a small club here called The End. There once was what I like ot call a "golden Age" of shows that were usually small bands, touring on their own and playing across the country in any venue they could get. Some of the best shows were actually held in people's houses. I kid you not, these were the bands that were out to play music for little money and maybe a plate full of cheap pasta if they were lucky. They did it because they loved it and that is what counts in my book. So Last night this show was a funny mix of a concert in a club and a house show. The entire crowd sang (or yelled) most of the lyrics the entire time. Here is a picture of last night taken with my oh so powerful 2 Megapixel camera. Yeah I know it looks like a gang fight, but I promise everyone was having a good time.


Fin
Ultimately, this band has done nothing but grow on me with their brutally smart and courageous music. I didn't even tell you that they played spot on with a wonderfully energetic edge making the live show even more intense than the recorded product. If you want more, check them out HERE.

3 comments:

  1. It's interesting to think of this kind of show in comparison to the big planned and choreographed shows people pay hundreds of dollars to see. I've done my share, but I can't think of a single club show with a live band that wasn't playing someone else's music. Wait, I think I saw Skid Row in a club way back in the day. Does that count?

    http://karensyed.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heck yeah that counts! Seeing the bands before they "make it big" is so special.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nick, I'm a music fanatic (1,000 CD in alphabetical order) do you have a link to one of your favorite "Against me" songs, I'd love to listen to it.

    --Martin

    http://martinbartloff.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete