After about an hour long wait, San Francisco psychedelics Annie Girl and the Flight took the stage. Through a set of strongly placed weak moans by lead singer, "Annie Girl", and ethereal whines that entranced the audience as they zoomed around the room, the fourpiece seemed to be a band of misfits - with their guitarist being considerably older than the others - thrown into some sort of drug-induced dream (in nearly the best way possible of course). "Swans" and their finale, "Bodies", wreaked havoc on the sound system as the crowd swayed and bobbed, still probably anticipating the two following bands instead of paying complete attention to the current act. It seemed that Annie Girl and her rag tag flight might be more suitable for background noise than music that can command any room.
As Annie Girl and the Flight left the stage, the room began to buzz and sweat for who came next, as it seemed that some fans were only there to see Frank Iero (ex-My Chemical Romance), a tattooed emo icon of course. The band's crew was quick with their set-up and the Cellabration took the stage to Iero's voice whining about evil and mundaneness (along with screams from isolated groups of adolescent girls). As the frontman walked onstage with his hood up and coffee in hand, the guitars wailed into their 2014 debut Stomachaches' (Staples Records) opener, "All I Want Nothing". It is evident that he spent most of his music career not as a flashy singer of a prolific, theatrical band like his ex-bandmate Gerard Way, but as the heart, as his passionate grit never faltered throughout his entire set. The front of house booth was constantly adjusting sound levels to produce the most flawless of the three bands' delivery.
Fan favorites, "Weighted" and "Joyriding" - the latter lacking the blood that doused its accompanying video - led the crowd to rush to the stage and jump as if they were watching the headliner. Iero said few words, and let the sobs and roaring of his and guitarist Evan Nestor's instruments do the talking, namely in his ode and true story about his wife ("She's the Prettiest Girl at the Party, and She Can Prove It with a Solid Hook"). And thus, as the last of the drum hits of "Joyriding" rang out to the back of the club, the aforementioned groups of girls left the pit, as they nudged each other and grinned, briskly remembering that they had just seen THE Frank Iero.
Now, the crowd bustled as Against Me! prepared to take the stage. Some begged the question of which songs off of their six studio albums they would bring out tonight. Others discussed Grace's prized Rickenbacker six-string, which now sat pristine on its stand. But as soon as the four took the stage to "Unconditional Love", everyone now did the same: scream. Dressed in all black, Against Me! played as if nothing had ever changed the band, but at this point, it is fair to say that nothing ever did. Even the boys in the collared shirts danced next to the girls in spiked denim vests and pink mohawks as they yelled back "They just see a faggot" - a word that, if yelled in any other setting, would be spit upon - as Grace strummed through "Transgender Dysphoria Blues".
The song has become an anthem for transgender youth, a handful of who stood in the crowd, and Laura Jane Grace a transgender icon. To be one of the only members of any rock band to confront gender dysphoria and transition, especially in a scene that was once homophobic, is still a difficult thing to do. Grace is a commanding beauty, even as her long, reddish hair covered her twinkling eyes for most of the set. During a break, she triumphantly reminded the crowd of the Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriages nationwide that had been announced just two days before. The crowd cheered, naturally.
The strongest of songs, which made the crowd continue their night-long moshing and the security to bob their heads, was "Thrash Unreal", the poppier song of 2006's New Wave. Even through her veil of hair, Grace smiled the whole time, exchanging silent banter with James Bowman, who has been the guitarist since 2001, and newcomer Inge Johansson. She is happy and shows it.
"Thrash Unreal" was quickly followed with two more crowd favorites, "Black Me Out" and "True Trans Rebel Soul", before the fourpiece exits the stage to breathe in the moment as the crowd chanted "One more song! One more song!". Grace suits up with an acoustic to cover The Replacements' "Androgynous", which she had recently performed as part of Miley Cyrus's Hippie Foundation Backyard Sessions along with Joan Jett. And as Against Me! all hovered around Atom Willard's drum kit for the final few notes, gratitude for the music and the message rang even louder than any amp could ever supply.
Laura Jane Grace and the rest of Against Me! are still one of punk's most punctuated statements, and as the sweaty pit thinned out and the last drinks were served, the inescapable feeling that comes with the most earnest music still was in everyone's bones.
//Angelia//
If you are struggling with your gender identity or aren't sure if you are transgender or not, feel free to reach out to the Transgender National Hotline: (877)-565-8860
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