In 2012, Against Me! lead singer Laura Jane Grace came out as transgender, making her one of the highest-profile music artists to have ever done so. As she made her medical transition, she and her band worked to complete “Transgender Dysphoria Blues,” their hard-heeling sixth studio album.
I heard Grace refer to the 2014 album at one point as having catchy songs about “a dark thing,” and considering the title and the punk band's propensity to leave in their rough edges, one can start to imagine. But there's something that I adore about “Transgender…” that goes well beyond what you could call simply “bravery” — an overused but noble term about being personal, to airing of laundry. It's dauntless, in its takedown of the ugly, gender-dominated cultures in an eyebrow-blazing speed with heavy, dark things.
“Drinking with the Jocks” is one of these, skidding to a halt and setting fire to things in only 1:50 time. Informed people don't wave the word “faggot” around easily. “Look at all of them bitches, yeah / I'm gonna f*ck them all… / Fill them up with cum,” Grace sings on the sex-and-death speed reel above. It's language-as-blunt-object, as a tool or a weapon. Worth a listen.
Against Me! is on tour now, dates below.
6/21 – Clisson, FR @ Hellfest
6/24 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie
6/27 – Toronto, ON @ Pride Toronto
7/18-20 – Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
7/19 – Bloomington, IN @ Rhino”s Youth Center *
7/22 – Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29 *
7/23 – August, GA @ Sky City *
7/24 – Wilmington, NC @ Ziggy”s By The Sea *
7/25 – Charlottesville, VA The Southern *
7/26 – Amityville, NY @ Revolution *
7/27 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall *
7/29 – Hartford, CT @ Webster Theater *
7/30 – Pawtucket, RI @ The Met
7/31 – Quebec City, QC @ Mountain Bike World Championship
8/01 – Kingston, OH @ Ale House
8/01-03 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
8/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
9/10 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club #
9/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center for the Performing Arts #
9/13 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center #
9/16 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues #
9/27 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater #
9/30 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues #
10/01 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee #
10/03 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain”s Ballroom #
10/07 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre #
10/08 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works #
10/10 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre #
10/14 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre #
10/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue #
10/16 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom #
10/17 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE #
* = w/ Jenny Owen Youngs and Creepoid
# = w/ The Gaslight Anthem