At this point, if an Against Me! show happens, it happens. It will be amazing, and I am sure it will start at a major festival like Riot Fest or The Fest, but in all honesty, you don’t have to wait for that reunion. Laura Jane Grace is still out there playing those songs along with her solo songs, and the member lineup for her spring tour may be the best representation of those Against Me! songs that I’ve seen since Against Me! played them.
For this spring tour, the two openers on each date are Black Guy Fawkes and Lung. Black Guy Fawkes has been releasing music for a decade now, mainly as acoustic, but his latest album, The Misery Suite, showcases his songs with a full band. I’ve heard about Black Guy Fawkes through other musicians mentioning him, like Dave Hause and Frank Turner, and seeing him live makes sense why he is talked about. Black Guy Fawkes performs with so much heart and emotion that I haven’t seen in a long time at a show. Definitely make it to the show early to catch his set because you won’t be disappointed in what you hear.
Following Black Guy Fawkes were a newer band for me called Lung. Lung are a two-member band with a classically trained opera singer on cello, Kate Wakefield, and Daisy Caplan on drums, who played bass in Foxy Shazam. Together, they make a unique blend of hard rock that blends a little bit of metal, classical, avant-garde, and everything in between. It is hard to describe their sound, but they are definitely one of a kind. Going in without knowing what they sounded like enabled me to be blown away by their performance, which will be talked about for months.
For this tour, Laura Jane Grace’s backing band featured some of the best musicians, and they played Against Me! songs better than ever. On drums is Ara Babajian, mostly known by The Slackers, and his drumming technique shone during the set. Mike Abbate of Screaming Females is on bass, and you can hear the walking bass lines he added throughout the night. Lastly, on the second guitar, is Liliana Jones, who added some great guitar solos and noodling to the songs. I’ve seen Against Me! and Laura Jane Grace many times with different members, and this lineup is up there as the best one so far.
The first half of the set was Against Me! songs, from “White Crosses” to “Transgender Dysphoria Blues;” the energy of those songs in a small room is unmatched. During the set, Laura and her band played a handful of her solo material, including “The Swimming Pool Song” and “I’m Not A Cop,” played with a full band and not just acoustic. Then, for the remainder of the show, Laura and the band finished the night off with more Against Me! songs. There weren’t any deep cuts played, but to hear these songs with her current band would’ve made any fan love every minute.
As for the encore, it too featured Against Me! songs. Instead of two guitars, Liliana Jones played the pedal steel guitar, and for a song like “Pints Of Guinness Make You Strong” to feature that but still have the punk energy was something to behold. The encore was unique, but the choice of the pedal steel guitar added a new flavor to those old songs. This tour goes until mid-May, and Laura picked some of the best musicians to join her, and they did her body of work justice.
Laura Jane Grace
Lung
Black Guy Fawkes