Punks may never truly grow up. In classic punk fashion, I nearly missed this show entirely when I wrote it on the wrong date on my calendar. My esteemed photographer Harry nearly went to the wrong venue [Ed: I don’t know where I am or how I got here]. It was a chaotic start to what was set to be a chaotic evening. Luckily, we both made it intact, and a lengthy night of music delivered top to bottom. Three bands graced the stage on a chilly Saturday night at the Sinclair, with enthusiastic music that was matched by a white hot crowd.
Up first was Gladie – a band I was fortunate enough to see just a few months ago at Brighton Music Hall. The band’s heavy and patient punk with complex emotional lyrics comes ripped from the same book that inspired much of AJJ’s music, so the band worked as a logical opener. Luckily a lot of folks came early, so Gladie got to play to a sizable and enthusiastic Sinclair crowd. They played a handful of cuts from their excellent 2022 album Don’t Know What You’re In Until You’re Out, like “Mud,” “Nothing” and their slam-dunk closer “Born Yesterday.” The band may have sounded the tightest and most engaged when they played their older tune “20/20,” with darkly optimistic lyrics that seemed to resonate over the crowd. The band also found time to riff on Wally, after going to game 1 of a day-night double header at Fenway. All in all, it was a superb way to kick off the show.
Oceanator also provided support, a group I’ve personally been trying to see for a while. The band played some tracks from their equally excellent 2022 release Nothing’s Ever Fine, with a title taken from Empire Records and a release date of April 8th, Rex Manning Day. Although the album features a balanced mix of punk, indie and folk, the band smartly opted to bust out a set full of bangers and jams. Frontwoman Elise Okusami can absolutely shred, more so than I realized, and the first two songs of the set started off scorching, the two loudest songs of the night. From there the pace got more measured, but the crowd stayed just as hot. Even as the band played the slower “Solar Flares,” there was a strong energy in the air. It was a very engaging set, even as they busted out a new song (“Part Time”) and admitted they were playing with a temporary replacement bassist. There was a running joke throughout the set of audience members shouting out compliments to Elise & the band (and their gear), which only added to the energetic positivity of the night. Both Gladie and Oceanator did the rounds opening for Jeff Rosenstock last year, so many AJJ fans were already keenly aware of both acts. The fans showed up, and so did the bands.
Gladie and Oceanator might be fresh groups trying to stamp their name and live presence, but the same cannot be said for AJJ. I’ve seen AJJ a handful of times over the years, including at the same venue nearly a decade ago. People Who Can Eat People came out 16 years ago. For AJJ, shows like this are a victory lap. And in a way, the punks can never truly grow up. AJJ had the crowd in the palm of their hands when they busted out raucous versions of classics like the mourning anthem “Distance” and the gory “Bad Bad Things.” Other classics like “Fucc the Devil,” “Children of God” and “Heartilation” had the crowd moving. They closed with “Big Bird,” and then ran back on stage to do “Brave As A Noun” (less of an encore and more of it being 10:58pm and a real short song). Many of these songs sound as fresh and original as they did when they were released more than a decade ago, complete with their lyrical immaturities and free speech-testing levels of scripted violence.
And yet, this whole night was a testament to maturity and change. When I last saw AJJ at the Sinclair, I was on the floor fully in the pit. Now I’m older, weaker, and resigned to the balcony where I can periodically check my phone while yawning and wondering how it’s already 10pm. While AJJ played a number of classics, the focus was distinctly on their new album, Disposable Everything. And this is where we have to compliment and congratulate the fans. The crowd was loud and positive all night, and swaths of people already knew the lyrics to the new songs, despite the album only being released around 36 hours earlier. Frontman Sean Bonnette also commented that the album’s artwork was designed by a member of Red Sox Nation. Seven of the album’s fourteen songs were played, as well they should have been – it’s the best AJJ album in years. It’s a balanced album, with a lot of short (and sometimes very short) songs that follow the same melodic structures of heyday AJJ albums, but with more patient and varied lyrics. “Death Machine” sounds like it was released in 2011, while the ballad “White Ghosts” is one of the softest songs they’ve ever done – and both sounded phenomenal live. When they played the latter, there was a hush among the crowd, a moment of clarity. It entered a quiet part of the set, followed by the new album’s lyrically fascinating title track, and Sean Bonnette doing two songs solo (including an unexpected cover of Beck’s “Cyanide Breath Mint”). There were a number of slower tunes played throughout the night, with periodical classics busted out for oomph. Seventeen of the twenty-seven (!) songs that the band played were released in 2014 or later. This was not in any way a legacy set – it was a celebration of all things present and future for AJJ. The punks have grown up, and they’re refusing to settle into a cycle of complacency. This was a pleasantly boisterous night of live music, one that dealt with the issues of age and maturity, and all without sacrificing any of the things that make theses bands energetic and fun in the first place.
Check out our photos from the show below.
