Against Me, Bodega, Wellington May 6

Pic: Not Quite Right



Arrived at this one too late to catch the first band Fighting The Shakes. However when I got to Bodega Not Quite Right were onstage and seemed at home in front of a larger than usual (for them) crowd. I got burnt out on seeing them as they seemed to playing every single weekend but obviously this has been good for them development as a band. I was impressed with both their music and stage presence at this show.



Against Me!

Against Me! are a band I'm not overly familiar with. They did seem like an interesting band when I read an interview with them in Razorcake a few years back. Only recently I'd heard some of their New Wave album and listened to one of their albums As The Eternal Cowboy a few days before seeing them. They played only a few songs I knew but that's fine. Half Against Me!'s set reminded me of INXS, Pseudo Echo or other 80s bands. It seems no coincidence that Billy Idol's 80's breakthtough Rebel Yell is name-checked as most of their new direction seems to have originated from the same era. It's probably just as well for them most of their newfound audience are barely out of their twenties and missed the New Wave movement while it was actually happening.



While they were great tight and energetic live act I found half their music fell flat on my ears. Earlier in the year I saw The Dirtbombs knowing nearly nothing about them and came out impressed and would definitely go see them again. However I wouldn't see Against Me! again as they didn't grab me musically nearly as much.

Setlist for those who care:
Up The Cuts (New Wave)
New Wave (New Wave)
White People For Peace (New Wave)
Thrash Unreal (New Wave)
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong (RAR)
Walking is Still Honest (RAR)
Reinventing Axl Rose (RAR)
Americans Abroad (New Wave)
From Her Lips to God's Ears (The Energizer) (SFAC)
Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart (New Wave)
Stop! (New Wave)
Don't Lose Touch (SFAC)
Sink, Florida, Sink (ATEC)
The Ocean (New Wave)

Encore:
Piss And Vinegar (New Wave)
Cliche Guevara (ATEC)
We Laugh at Danger (And Break all the Rules) (RAR)