Me First And The Gimme Gimmes

***Twenty years have passed since Me First and the Gimme Gimmes ruined Johnny's Bar Mitzvah, and punk rock's premier cover band is back to wreak havoc on another important coming-of-age ceremony. This time, as the album title reveals, it was a Quinceañera. Nobody attending had ever heard of Me First and The Gimme Gimmes, and nobody knew what to expect. Recorded on July 15th, 2023, at The Soap Factory in San Diego, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes were completed by Joey Cape on guitar, CJ Ramone on bass, Swami John Reis on guitar, and Andrew "Pinch" Pinching on drums—a veritable punk rock supergroup, as ever, not that anyone at the Quinceañera knew or cared. However, they also had a wind section for the first time, courtesy of Keith Douglas and Jason Crane. Swami John Reis' father, John Reis Sr. even played accordion on the penultimate song, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls.” It all comes together to create a performance that rises (even as it's sinking) to the occasion in ¡BLOW IT...AT MADISON’S QUINCEAÑERA!. The album kicks off with a one-person applause as Slawson introduces Black Sabbath’s hit “Changes.” The crowd loosens up gradually as the set goes on and the band incorporates the birthday girl into their schtick. The set reaches a turning point as the band charges into Olivia Rodrigo’s pop masterpiece “Good 4 U,” garnering the biggest response from the apprehensive crowd. It would have been so easy for the band to play to a crowd who already knew and loved them, but that's not the Gimmes way. Besides, you get more sense of what the band is like live listening to this than you ever could from a slick performance in front of an adoring audience. Don’t blow it on this live album from the world’s favorite Punk cover band.