Last Saturday, Against Me!, Frank Iero, and Annie Girl and the Flight played at Bogart's to a surprisingly small audience.
Annie Girl and the Flight
San Francisco's Annie Girl and the Flight were simply amazing. I listened to a few songs from the band before their performance live and was pleasantly entertained. Annie Girl's voice is soft and light, reminiscent of Emily Haines of Metric, but with a soft-psych, "art-rock" sound. Released in June of this year, their latest EP, Bodies, is worth more than a few listens.
Frnkiero and the Cellebration
The name Frank Iero may sound familiar. The ex My Chemical Romance guitarist, like his former band mate Gerard Way, started his own project and is currently touring in support of "Stomachaches", which was released in August of last year. With the left side of his body facing the audience, during the majority of his performance, Iero's new project's departure from MCR is evident in its rawness. "Weighted" is by far my favorite track on the album.
Against Me!
What is there to say about one of the most consistent bands in rock and roll, except the fact that you weren't there? Performing to the smallest audience I've ever seen AM!, the band still brought it. Outspoken activist, lead singer, and guitarist for Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace, sang each and every song with perfection. With her long brunette hair bobbing to the beat of "I Was a Teenage Anarchist", "Cliché Guevara", and "Unconditional Love", witnessing an artist in thriving in their element is inspiring and exciting.
In the past, I've had to stand towards the middle or back of the audience in order to avoid crowd surfers and general rowdiness (I'm getting old) but luckily this time I was able to get a full view of drummer Atom Willard, and god-damn that guy is underrated. Like Grace, Willard periodically smiled while pounding away on each complicated song and swinging his hair in order to get it out of his eyes. The band played an encore which included a cover in which Grace, Miley Cyrus, and Joan Jett recorded collectively and respectively of “Androgynous” by Paul Westerberg,
During "True Trans Soul Rebel", I noticed many members of the audience embracing each other and kissing, which has to be one of the most powerful sights I've had the opportunity to experience. With Cincinnati's pride celebration weekend and the monumental ruling for marriage equality, seeing Against Me! was not only experiencing another AM! show, but also a celebration of how far we've come. The only question is, where were you?
There is a chance to redeem yourself. Against Me!, Frank Iero, and Annie Girl and the Flight are still on tour and are playing a show tonight at Newport Music Hall in Columbus. Go.
Check out photos from the show HERE!
