it's lame to say it, but this band is still "reinventing axl rose," just in a different way than they used to. everything about their show at rochester's water street music hall was what i would hope to see from this band, and then some. but let's backtrack a few months to their set opening for dropkick murphys in niagara falls. i went into the set hoping amongst all hope that i wouldn't get a set of new wave and white crosses with their back-catalog forgotten, i mean, their last stint at warped tour was primarily new wave and i figured the set times would be similar. i was terribly mistaken. they played a great mix and an incredible set. so, when i found out they would be at water street in a few months time, i knew i had to be there.
the opening bands weren't anything incredible, but i will say this, i don't know if i've ever seen a girl shred the guitar like the singer of "screaming females." she was impressive.
i got to the venue right around the time of doors, and bought my ticket. 20 dollars. hmm...i thought it was advertised as 18, i asked the door-man. "no, sorry, that was a misprint" he told me. oh well, 2 bucks, no big deal. there was reentry, so i bought their 2 latest vinyl releases and went back to my car to leave them there and drink a couple beers before the show. i got back mid-lemuria and made my way to the front.
when the time came for against me!'s set, i was front-row-center and ready to yell my brains out for the guys to play "disco..." they blasted into "cliche guevara," and from that point on, i knew i was still very much in love with this band. a good 20 songs later, including "35%" from the "disco..." ep, and "reinventing axl rose" (a song i had somehow never seen them play in the 4 previous shows), they arrived on the intro to t.s.r., and that's when the show got interesting. tom stopped before the party was over (if you'll excuse my pun) to thank the opening bands and to tell water street to fuck off. there was no misprint on the price of the tickets, the venue was overcharging people. and he made sure everybody knew it. he then said he'd be happy to give back the money to whoever was overcharged. next song, "sink, florida, sink" tom's mic was cut out. either suspicious or a coincidence? regardless, he grabbed andrew's mic and finished the set there.
come encore time. after yelling it all night, "disco before the breakdown" made it to song #2. was it written on the set? probably. but who cares, i was stoked they were playing it, and andrew saw my reaction and gave me a salute. the familiar closer came after a clash cover, and "we laugh at danger" lit the room on fire. tom's mic was faulting again, and he decided it was time to start smashing it in to the monitor. i've been a fan of this band long enough to remember the days when fans would hit the stage during the end of this song, and after catching eyes of another fellow long-term-fan, all i had to say was "let's go" and away we went. bouncers got to him quick, and i almost made it. instead, however, i was pulled back by the collar of my shirt and put in a headlock and dragged to the side of the stage. wait, here comes tom gable to pull the bouncer off of me? yeah, he stopped the show and told him to leave me alone, and stop being a "fucking jerk." it was awesome. absolutely awesome to see a guy who so many people criticize prove he still really cares a hell of a lot about his fans.
the band left the stage pissed, and away went the fans. i walked around the side of the building just to see who was hanging around, and sure enough, there was jay weinberg. if there was any drummer who could fill the fans hearts who were upset about warren leaving, it's jay. the guy is awesome. i shook his hand and said thanks for everything (oh, and they stole a bottle of jameson). i figured if they were all coming out, i'd stay and say thanks to tom personally for him sticking up for me. unfortunately, no such luck. i did have the opportunity to have james come up to me and make sure i was okay, and there was andrew, staying true to tom's word with a giant wad of one dollar bills, giving them away to whoever wanted a refund. i talked to him for a while about music, struggling to make it on my own, his joining against me! and some other various stuff. he was seriously a really cool guy. unfortunately, i had a drunken friend with me and i didn't want to pester him too much even though he said i wasn't.
without a doubt one of the most amazing shows i've been to and one of the coolest concert memories i have. it was incredible. the only down side was falling asleep at the wheel because i was so exhausted on the way home and scrapping the hell out of the side of my car. but that's what insurance is for (hopefully) and it was still very much worth it just for the experience and for the memories.
Setlist (in ALMOST the correct order)
-cliche guevara
-pints of guiness
-from her lips to god's ears
-new wave
-because of the shame
-don't lose touch
-violence
-russian spies
-walking is still honest
-rice and bread
-rapid decompression
-white people for peace
-americans abroad
-reinventing axl rose
-miami
-tonight we give it 35%
-white crosses
-teenage anarchist
-t.s.r.
-sink, florida, sink
-slurring the rhythms
-you look like i need a drink
-clapping hands/balled fists
thrash unreal
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-occult enemies (i think)
-janie jones (clash cover)
-disco before the breakdown
-we laugh at danger
amazing.
