KROQ Epicenter Twenty-Ten: Against Me!

Photo by Alex Rauch

If I said I love Against Me!, would you hold it against me? The punk-rock quartet reminiscent of Cursive, Hot Water Music, and other Epicenter Twenty-Ten band, Rise Against, took the stage with the swagger of seasoned professionals.

There were no complaints of heat or exhaustion, no audience coddling or nervous pauses; Against Me! is pure, unfiltered, old-school punk-rock. Catchy, exciting, and musically on point, Against Me! reminded us of all the punk rock shows we’d sneak into as teens. And that is a very, very good thing.

While the theme of the day is at Epicenter Twenty-Ten is “Take Your Clothes Off,” Against Me! plundered the stage in all black, enticing the audience into a roaring glory with their opening song “I Was A Teenage Anarchist.” What is an Against Me! show like? It is all passion, sweat, charging drum beats, epic walls of sound due to the trio of synchronized vocals, and that classic kitsch-free sound that gives you faith in the perpetual appeal of punk rock.

Clapping through-out the entire set comprised of tunes like “New Wave” and “White Crosses,” the audience undoubtedly agreed. These are the sort of dudes that guys want to slug back whiskey with in a dive bar and girls want to secretly marry and bake cupcakes for. Yes, marriage. Because girls like to marry awesome rock stars. It doesn’t hurt that they all looked adorable while dripping with sweat, liberal pours of water over each other’s heads, and raw energy.

Reporting from our luxurious perch side stage, Against Me! almost had us wanting to stage dive straight into the crowd of slippery, throbbing, half-naked fans. This is how punk rock is supposed to make you feel. Pure and simple. This is true artist connection. Or as Against Me! aptly says in their song “New Wave”:

We can control the medium/We can control the context of presentation/Is there anybody on the receiving end?/Reaching out for some kind of connection

[Photo Gallery] KROQ Epicenter…