Against Me! fans rejoice – the American punk band is set to release their first live album after nearly 10 years. 23 Live Sex Acts is set to release this Friday September 4th, and front-woman Laura Jane Grace is estatic for the current lineup.
She says that the band has undergone so much change and growth that it was necessary to rerecord some of the content that was on Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!! in 2006. Not only has the band grown musically and songwriting wise, the band has faced many line-up changes since then, including a new drummer and bassist.
In perfect Against Me! fashion, raw footage is anything close to perfect. During one of the songs, “New Wave”, Laura can be heard yelling at a security guard for kicking out a fan.
In an interview with Exclaim, Laura explains:
“That was what was important to me to capture,” she says. “That’s what the shows are like, there are bodies flying over the barricade, smashing into the monitor, knocking the mic stand down, people jumping up, throwing their arm around you, and screaming into the mic. And rarely do these people sing in tune. You want to capture that resist the urge to go back and use studio magic to fix the live record.”