This will be the second time I’ve seen Laura Jane Grace front Against Me! this year and let me tell you, former teenage anarchists: She’s looking great. Dressed in a black tank, bra (a bra!), leggings, boots, and black eyeliner, Grace exuded a very cool Joan Jett vibe the second she walked on stage to massive applause. But the very instant the band counted off the opening march of “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” it was old-fashioned Against Me! albeit with a bigger bite with the new band dynamic.

Hit the jump for the full recap.

– sunbear

That song “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” written as the former Tom Gabel was battling with his gender identity couldn’t be more brazen in its tackling of the issues Gabel was facing at the time. “You want them to see you like they see every other girl – They just see a faggot.” Heavy stuff.

These days, post-hormone therapy and a rejuvenated sense of self later, Grace looks very comfortable in her skin – very happy to finally be who she truly is and perform with the band she formed back in 2007.

This new attitude reinvigorated old Against Me! anthems as well. “Turn Those Clapping Hands Into Angry Balled Fists” from all the way back on 2003’s As the Eternal Cowboy has blown up into a full magnitude-sized arena anthem that old Gabel would have stomped his feet to, but now finds Grace swinging her hips to.

The handful of new songs sounded great as well. “Drinking with the Jocks” was one firey number looking back at how, at one point, desperate to fit in, Gabel was “laughing at the faggots, just like one of the boys.” “Dead Friends,” which I had heard debuted acoustic at March’s Revival Tour was given a very UK punk treatment and sounded something like the Buzzcocks done up with a full band.

While bassist Andrew Seward and guitarist James Bowman were as strong a presence as I’ve ever seen them, Jay Weinberg’s heavy handed blitzkrieg drumming was the powerhouse of the night. His wild arms and tendency to spring up off his throne at the end of songs made Weinberg a spastic force and a spotlight stealer.

Per usual, the night culminated in the grand sing and clap-a-long of “We Laugh at Danger (And Break All The Rules)” and though nobody rushed the stage this time around (c’mon, Houston!), the sweaty energy of the packed Warehouse Live Studio was palpable. Against Me! have been an act that get better each time I see them and with a renewed strength thanks to a new frontwoman and a manic drummer I can only expect them to get better

Old friends of Against Me! and fellow Naples, Floridians Fake Problems wasted no time in getting the crowd on their side as the direct support. Frontman Chris Farren’s voice sounded crisp as he howled out songs from their breakout album Real Ghosts Caught on Tape.

“5678” with its buoyant, playful melodies had the crowd dancing (dance as punks can, that is) and the tuneful upswing of “RSVP” had my friend turning to me saying “Who are these guys? They’re so happy!”

For myself though, it didn’t get any better than the alt-country tromp of “Songs for Teenagers” which might be my favorite song the band have written – one of those wasted youth soundtracks to your life songs. Everyone loves a little sobering reality, right?