Against Me! , Matt & Kim, David Dondero - Jillians, Las Vegas, 9/14/07

I caught this show last night. Here's the rundown:

David Dondero started the show off at 7:30. Armed with just his acoustic guitar, he dove into a set of folky Americana emo-punk. Me and my friends had never heard of him before, but right away I pegged him as a Bright Eyes rip off. He sounded exactly like Conor Oberst - that slightly whiny, barely in tune quaver that we all know and love. He had great songs, though, so we bought his live album and got it signed after his set. Now, get this...this morning I was perusing the net and I find out that David Dondero is a major influence of good ole' Bright Eyes. David isn't biting Conor's style...Conor is biting David's style! Here's a song that had the ladies in my group swooning:

David Dondero - Rothko Chapel (buy)

Matt & Kim took the stage after David's set. As soon as they began soundchecking with "Lipgloss", you know things were about to get weird and exciting. With his black wiry glasses and nasally voice, Matt came across as what would happen if Fogell from Superbad did some crack and took up the synthesizer. And Kim...no words can express how fucking POWERFUL her drumming is. Meg White should pay her for some lessons. This song is highly recommended:

Matt & Kim - It's a Fact (Printed Stained) (buy)

Against Me! were the headliners, and the heroes of the evening. As soon as they ripped into their set, people in the center of the crowd began popping up and surfing to the front of the stage. Security was there to catch them and send them to the back before they could get to the band. Towards the end of their set, a kid nearly got on stage but was caught by this security guy and put into a nasty headlock. Against Me immediately stopped their show, reprimanded the asshole for letting his emotions do his job for him, and asked that he leave. The guy went backstage, probably fearing that he would get the shit kicked out of him by the crowd (who was obviously on their favorite band's side). It's really inspiring when a band feels that strongly about their fans' well-being. The set was a lot of fun, too - every single song was a sing-along.

Against Me! - Thrash Unreal (buy)

Thesis: If David Dondero, Matt & Kim, and/or Against Me! are playing in your area, GO SEE THEM.

-Phil