In the midst of their tour with the Dropkick Murphys, Against Me! went back to their roots for an afternoon show at the Mercury Lounge in NYC. This was definitely the smallest NYC show the guys had done in quite some time. I don’t think I’ve seen them play a venue this small since 2002 when they played at ABC No Rio. Things have clearly changed a lot since then but the show on that Saturday afternoon showed me a band at the top of their game. Kind of a rare thing to say from a band who just got dropped for a major label.

Adding drumming Jay Weinberg (yes, Max Weinberg’s son) recently didn’t hurt. Of all the times I’ve seen the band (I’ve lost track at this point. Probably more than 15 times), this might have been the best I’ve seen them play. The addition of Weinberg has re-energized them completely. AM!’s live shows have always been known for their no talking, rocket fire setlists but it seemed like they were having more fun that usual this time around.

Sure, it wasn’t the most energetic show crowd-wise. If you’re playing a 21+ venue at 2 pm when a lot of those in attendance may be nursing hangovers, I wouldn’t expect a lot of pogoing moshing youngsters. But to be quite honest, I enjoyed that (yes, I am getting older). But it wasn’t a totally tame show (that would just be weird). There were a few crowd surfers when the guys busted out some older numbers like “Walking Is Still Honest” and “Baby, I’m An Anarchist.”

I wonder where the band will go from here (label-wise, music-wise) but this show was an indication that things have not slowed down at all.

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The King Left are getting ready to release their first full length LP Perfect Without People in mid May. The album produced by Ian Love of Rival Schools (whom they also toured with last year) definitely shows the band reaching a new level with their songwriting and fully realizing a very dynamic sound of their own, though you can detect traces of their influences throughout the record including Built To Spill, Radiohead and Grizzly Bear. Download a new track from the record below and you can pre-order the vinyl here with a free instant digital download.

The band will be playing their record release and final show at the Mercury Lounge on May 14th, 2010 with Drink Up Buttercup.

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MP3: The King Left – The Way To Canaan

Rival Schools finally played the first New York show they officially announced a couple months back at the Mercury Lounge last Thursday. It was their second set of the night, as they opened up for Bad Brains at Irving Plaza show earlier in the evening. The band played a great set of the classics from their debut album as well as previewing some of the new tracks like “Arranged Marriages” and “Big Wave.” They also rocked a cover of “How Soon Is Now?,” which they dedicated to our new President elect, Barack Obama.

The set closed with “Used For Glue,” which caused the crowd to get a bit rowdy, which only escalated when the band decided to play just one more song, a cover of the Cro-Mags’ “We Gotta Know.” Hardcore dancing at a Rival Schools show started for a small portion of the crowd in front of the stage, causing one guy near me to get punched in the face. Covered in blood after the set the dude muttered in disbelief, “a bloody nose at a Rival schools show, really?!”

Opening the night was Innaway and The King Left. Unfortunately, I only caught the last few minutes of Innaway, but the King Left put on a stellar show with their angular guitar riffs, thundering drums fused with the occasionally spacey/shoe-gazey build ups. They will be headlining Mercury Lounge with Howlies on Dec. 4th, a show we highly recommend.

More photos after the jump.

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