First of all, I must say that the opening bands, Fifth Hour Hero and The Swellers, were so terrible that they don’t even deserve a mention, aside from this mention here.

With that in mind, on to the headliners. If you want a band that plays loud and hard every night, that doesn’t care how many people are counted at the door, that would travel a million miles and ask for nothing more in return than a plate of food and a place to rest, then Against Me! is just the band for you. Punk rock protocol meets the sounds of the dirty, dirty south when Against Me! hits the stage. Imagine four very angry, politically-aware “anarchists” playing shoot-‘em-up cowboy rock. Makes for a good time, all the time.

Against Me! instantly succeeded in turning clapping hands into furious fists with their opening song, “From Her Lips to God’s Ears”, and continued to woo the crowd - who did anything but stand and be silent - with each following number. From where I was watching (the pit), it was hard to pick out anyone sober, or anyone not singing along. The highlight of the night was when they broke into “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong”, which got my friends literally hanging off the ceiling. I enjoyed the show from beneath them, feet flat on the floor.

At Call the Office, there’s a huge beam that crosses the stage area which is perfect for either hanging off of, or stage diving toward and smashing your head against. Unfortunately, the bouncers won’t let you do either. Nevertheless, Against Me! had them working hard that night, peeling kids off the ceiling while simultaneously trying to keep order on the floor. Talk about anarchy. The peace was finally restored when Against Me! finished out their closing number, “Reinventing Axl Rose”. Or, at least we thought it was their closing number. They came back for an encore and played “Baby, I’m an Anarchist” to complete the night.

The band made it known that they’re being featured at next year’s Warped Tour, and I encourage you all to catch them there, if you can. Unless you DON’T want to have fun – in that case, you should just avoid them altogether.

All in all, Against Me! left a lasting impression on the crowd, and in our hearts earned the exclamation mark they’re always throwing at the end of their name.