Against Me!

We’re Never Going Home (Fat)
by Evan Solochek

This DVD from Florida’s Against Me! chronicles the band’s spring tour with insightful interviews with band members, roadies, tour manager, merch guy, and other selected friends intermingled with live show footage and other candid, behind-the-scenes moments. As impossible as it is to capture the energy and passion of a live Against Me! show, this DVD does an admirable job and serves as the best possible alternative to actually seeing them in person, which is an indirect way of saying it’s great.

The most amusing part of the DVD is when the band play the Asbury Park, NJ music festival and were overshadowed by the likes of Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, and Brand New, or “the assholes,” as Adam Volk, tour manager for No Choice, described them. After playing their set to a crowd of generally disinterested kids who feigned interest in and knowledge of the band to the camera, Tom and Andrew stole Taking Back Sunday’s beer and then proceeded to padlock them in their dressing room just before their set. Their thirst for fun at the expense of emo/punk bands far from quenched, they then crashed Story Of The Year’s tour bus, stealing food and alcohol before getting kicked out by the lead singer.

Their humorous antics not withstanding, We’re Never Going Home offers an unparalleled view into the life of a band on the road as they battle internal relations as well as being courted by major record labels and the possible alienation that comes with such a process. Having always enjoyed their music, I came away from this DVD feeling as if I knew the members of Against Me! on a far less superficial level, and with such an advancement came a renewed respect and appreciation for their music.
(www.fatwreck.com)