Against Me @ In the Venue 05.07.07
Show Reviews
Against Me!
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Total Treble
Street: 01.21
Against Me! = Dead To Me + The Gaslight Anthem
Being an Against Me! fan is exhausting. I’ve watched as they transformed from screaming punk with an acoustic guitar into major-label rock stars, and I was on their side during their Dylan-goes-electric days of As The Eternal Cowboy.
I shrugged when New Wave came out, but stopped myself from saying “sellout.” My friends and I still sing “Baby, I’m An Anarchist!” when we’re drunk, and we pretended the radio rock turd White Crosses never happened.
Our revered Tom Gabel switched genders, became Laura Jane Grace, and announced a new album. Though there are a few stinkers, Transgender Dysphoria Blues actually isn’t horrible. “Drinking With The Jocks” and “Osama Bin Laden As The Crucified Christ” kick ass like the Eternal Cowboy and Searching days, and “Two Coffins” is the most paralyzing song I have heard in a long time. TDB is no Reinventing Axl Rose, but longtime fans won’t be entirely depressed by the band’s current trajectory. –Cody Kirkland