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I'll begin this by pointing out a few small things. First, I'm from Pittsburgh, PA and the show was in Columbia, SC. I don't know how that would affect the review but maybe there's some unconscious bias of mine. The second: The Riverboat Gamblers were unfortunately replaced on the bill by Dan Sartain, who I will get into later.

The show took place at Headliners in Columbia, SC and began around 8:30 with the band Fake Problems. The band sounds a bit like their tourmates, Against Me!, but also had what I'm choosing to describe as a slight rockabilly influence. The vocals were pretty Gabel-like, minus the political subject matter, the bass player held it down pretty steadily, the drummer was very talented using some fairly unconventional uses of cowbells and his kit, and the lead guitarist was very good with his instrument, as well as a little maraca. They were obviously having fun during their whole set, and it only made their music sound better. They're on Sabot Records and I highly recommend checking them out if you haven't already.

The second act was Dan Sartain. It was a guitarist, who I assume was Dan himself, and a drummer. The songs themselves were monotonous solo-rock -- standard subject matter, standard guitar playing, nothing that stood out. However, what did stand out was what Dan did roughly 20 minutes into his set. A kid a row ahead of me and subsequently right in front of the mic was, as a lot of us were, not enjoying the set. So he decided to sit down during a song and face his friends. Apparently Dan was angered by this because after the song he leaned down to the kid and proclaimed "Sorry you're wasting your allowance here, kid." About 10 of us heard this and laughed to ourselves a little thinking it was pretty funny. Dan came back about 5 seconds later and said, "Look at this kid, he's sooooo punk rock," walked away then proceeded to pick up his can of Budweiser and toss it onto the kid. Luckily he missed and it bounced off the kid's knee and just spilled on the floor, but come on. As an artist you HAVE to realize that not everyone's going to be into your music and you have to be professional about it. Maybe the kid shouldn't have sat down, but Dan definitely should not have thrown a fucking beer.

Finally around 10 Against Me came on. They blew through their set with ferocity and noticeable intensity. The crowd was obviously there for AM!, and AM! only, and I think the band really felt that and played off the energy to their fullest ability. That night was the sixth time I've seen AM! and it was honestly the best one. I can't remember an exact set list, but standout songs included "Americans Abroad," "Problems," "Walking Is Still Honest," "Sink, Florida, Sink," "Those Anarcho Punks...," and the surprise closer, a cover of the Replacements' "Bastards of Young." AM! also unveiled four new songs that I can only assume will be appearing on their new record. One song was "White People for Peace," which they recently released on YouTube. The other three were good songs, but "White People" was the standout of that group. Two of the three songs were a bit slower, the third being more like “White People,” but all were very catchy. I think it’s safe to say that signing to Sire hasn’t done anything to their approach to songwriting.

Despite the antics of a Mr. Dan Sartain, and the noticeable absence of "We Laugh at Danger and Break All the Rules," it was a really enjoyable show. The venue was pretty cool, and the kids of Columbia were really nice and friendly. If you have the chance to catch this tour at all during the coming weeks, I highly recommend doing so.






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    Posted by SCjames on 2008-06-24 04:03:12

    I hate that venue, last time i was there the bouncers beat the shit outta like 4 kids

    Posted by screeching_bottlerocket on 2007-04-08 15:28:58

    this is a kickass tour. i saw it in asheville and riverboat gamblers and dan sartain played that one. dan was also a dick at this show, he was so pissed that no one liked him that he walked off stage leaving guitar in front of his amp so it feedbacked for like 5 minutes. what a douche.

    fake problems, riverboat gamblers, and against me! were all amazing though!

    Posted by badbrain on 2007-03-05 18:22:06

    Richmond got Disco and Julie for the encore. it was my first time seeing them so i was kinda dissappointed they didn't play We Laugh At Danger but awesome show nonetheless

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 5, 2007 at 2:24 PM (EST)

    Nice... I'll be at the Toledo show too. I"ve never been to Frankie's, but last time I went to a Toledo show at Headliner's for Riveboat Gamblers/Dead to Me less than ten people showed up.

    Posted by kingofsuck on 2007-03-05 14:10:10

    I just got my ticket for the Toledo show in the mail a few hours ago. I haven't been this excited about a show for a long time.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 5, 2007 at 1:47 AM (EST)

    35%? I've seen them six or seven times, even in Gainesville and Orlando and St. Augustine, back when that EP came out, and I've never seen that song live.

    Posted by marcusd on 2007-03-04 14:24:02

    v holy jesus fuck!

    Posted by marcusd on 2007-03-04 14:23:57

    v holy jesus fuck!

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 4, 2007 at 1:48 PM (EST)

    At the Baltimore show we got Disco, 35%, and Shit Stroll for an encore.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 3, 2007 at 9:03 PM (EST)

    The song that goes "Stop, take some time to think, think about what's important to you"? That's a new song.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 3, 2007 at 9:01 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    They played Disco and We Laugh at Danger for the encore in Asheville. Tom was giving kids piggyback rides acroos the stage at the end of it all.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 3, 2007 at 8:59 PM (EST)

    "On, Monday, they played a song with a chorus that mentioned "Make serious decision." or something. Anyone know if that was a cover, and what the name of it is?"

    It isnt a cover -- its on their new album. Its kickass! I am hoping it's the single.

    Posted by Scruffy on 2007-03-03 12:23:01

    "And that kid was being a jerk and deserved to have beer thrown at him. It takes a lot to write songs, and get up there in front of all those people."

    Yes, but it is by no means a unique thing to do. You do not deserve respect just for writing songs and getting on stage. Millions of people do it every day. If your songs aren't good, you can't get mad at people for not caring. It's not their fault they're bored.

    Posted by marcusd on 2007-03-03 00:44:31
    My Score:

    for the jersey show. disco before the breakdown...what the fuck

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 11:57 PM (EST)

    NJ show got 'Disco' and 'We Laugh at Danger and Break All the Rules'

    Posted by SloaneDaley on 2007-03-02 16:03:59

    no "We Laugh at Danger and Break All the Rules"? booooo I say boooo but if they play Disco here I'll be happy.

    Posted by skeetskurt on 2007-03-02 15:39:57

    i would have liked to see against me and dan sartain. and i woulda caught that fucking beer and drank it! pussies.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 1:43 PM (EST)

    When you say generic rock...what do you mean? Because I'm into singer-songwriter-type stuff, so long as it's catchy (Ted Leo, Elvis Costello, etc.) but if it's like, early rock riffs with rockabilly-kinda vocals, then no. Sartain seems like a complete jackass- I mean, who makes fun of a kid? He seems, well, a little immature, and certainly insecure about his music. If you're not ready for someone to dislike your music, you should probably not be a musician, you know?
    -feeeding5000

    Posted by BTown on 2007-03-02 13:37:20

    When I saw them Dan was kinda a jackass as well. However, the crowd was just as harsh to him. But I can somewhat understand that as I didn't realize he was playing until I showed up. That plus his extremely long set, as well as the typical length between sets, it was close to 2 hours before AM! came on after the Gamblers, and that was really annoying considering I was expecting AM! after the Gamblers.

    AM! was alright when they played. A nice surprise was them opening their encore with The Disco Before The Breakdown

    Posted by PatThetic on 2007-03-02 12:27:38

    dan sartain is awesome

    what a voice

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 11:36 AM (EST)

    actually the encore last night was disco and anarcho punks

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 10:37 AM (EST)

    the encore last night was disco and we laugh at danger
    they were going to play 35% but the kids stormed the stage and andrew and warren were the only ones who could continue playing so sadly that didnt happen

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 9:51 AM (EST)

    i'm gonna be really disappointed if they don't play "walking is still honest" at the milwaukee date...and they better do the "bastards of young" cover

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 9:04 AM (EST)

    I was there, and I think the reviewer is giving Dan Sartain a bad rap. He wasn't just generic solo stuff, his stuff was like chuck berry. And yes, he didn't jump around or dance or anything, but I really enjoyed his early rock n' roll style.

    And that kid was being a jerk and deserved to have beer thrown at him. It takes a lot to write songs, and get up there in front of all those people. If anything, he should have respect for Dan because Against Me! obviously like him enough to take him on tour.

    Posted by ben_conoley on 2007-03-02 08:21:26

    They've been playing Disco.. on the encore? Holy shit.

    Posted by eyeslikebombs on 2007-03-02 07:40:54

    On, Monday, they played a song with a chorus that mentioned "Make serious decision." or something. Anyone know if that was a cover, and what the name of it is?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 3:31 AM (EST)

    http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7819/picture006qw8.jpg

    set list from the new haven show last night (3/1)

    Posted by salsashark on 2007-03-02 03:25:30

    holy fuck!!! They played "Bastards of Young?!" I am amazed.

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-03-02 02:22:57

    lolz, dan sartain cracks me up. his "young girls" song is a riot.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 2:00 AM (EST)

    Yeah, pretty much the encores on this tour are the only thing making it worth going to unless you've never seen AM! before, except for the Riverboat Gamblers.

    So far on this tour, I've heard of them playing Disco Before the Breakdown, Impact, Tonight We Give It 35%, Shit Stroll, Bastards of Young, I Still Love You Julie, and one or two others as closers.

    Also the setlists have been really varied, which makes these shows a lot more fun than the last tour I saw them on with Alkaline Trio

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 1:59 AM (EST)

    dan is a genius, the kid can't show any respect, i hope his mom's pussy gets cancer and eats the kid back in her kemo rotted cunt.


    Thank you, Mr. Sartain.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 1:28 AM (EST)

    dan is a genius, the kid can't show any respect, i hope his mom's pussy gets cancer and eats the kid back in her kemo rotted cunt.

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2007-03-02 01:11:12

    Wait, so a kid sat down during the set of one of the supporting acts, and the artist got offended and threw a beer? I'd say sittingg down and turning one's back on a opening band is the most polite way I've ever seen someone display their disdain for opening act. What's the big deal?

    Posted by Waltezmo on 2007-03-02 01:03:55

    I fully support artists throwing their beer at kids. Even generic non-artists if that's what this guy is said to be.

    Posted by strangenotes on 2007-03-02 00:20:44

    I heard that new song on youtube. What a mess. RAGING AGAINST (ME! AND) THE MACHINE.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 12:13 AM (EST)

    the fact that they're playing bastards of young is the only thing making me really want to go to this tour now....

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, March 2, 2007 at 12:08 AM (EST)

    Haha... most of us get the Riverboat Gamblers and you got Dan Sartain? I feel for you. I saw that guy play with Gogol Bordello and Vailent Thor in December, and he was awful. It's bad enough to sit through generic, boring crap like that... but when he's touring with bands like Gogol and AM! that are known for being high energy live shows, it sucks to see him on the bill.

    On a side note, what's wrong with sitting down? It's the band's job to entertain the crowd, not the crowd's job to pretend they are into the band.

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