Bid Again
Against Me! have been around for a good few years now but they still get a smaller crowd than many of the other bands on the Lock Up stage today; on the evidence of this performance they deserved more. They have a great sound combining big guitars and big tunes all delivered with great enthusiasm and aggression.
The band are clearly loving it as they grin and push each other around the stage. The early part of the set is given over to faster songs and it's highly impressive. The first of the slower songs 'Don't Lose Touch' is excellent and with its huge anthemic chorus is a clear fans' favourite. After a couple of slower ones it's still an impressive performance as they are performed with just as much grit as the faster numbers, the problem comes though when they play 3 or 4 slow ones in a row. The crowd become subdued and for a while it's looking like the band are going to lose the impetus, even the front rows have stopped moving.
They pull it out of the bag at the end though with a return to the huge riffs and good melody. It's only the lull of the slower songs in the middle that stop this from being a great set but it's still pretty damn good.