Punk rock is alive and well, or so it seemed on Friday night when Against Me! played to a sold out crowd at the Castle Theater. 

The band returned to The Castle theatre after a stellar performance at Lollapalooza over the summer. 

They are currently on tour in support of last year’s White Crosses. The album is certainly the band’s most accessible album to date, and due to that, many fans are claiming the band has "sold out."

However, after seeing the band perform, those notions quickly were dismissed.

Singer Tom Gabel and his cohorts stormed on stage, wearing all black, which was a very nice contrast to the bright stage lights. 

They charged through a 20-song set, and the group was quite inspiring. Forget those that claimed the band lost their ideals or sold out; this show was a straight up punk rock show.

Fans packed the theater full; making it the Castle’s first sold out show since the theater reopened 6 months ago.

The pierced, mohawk clad punks didn’t hesitate to stage dive and crowd surf at every chance they got. Let’s just say it was pure chaos with no security to aid in the constant barrage of bodies hitting the floor.

Gabel, who was soaking with sweat by the time the show was over, could not stop smiling as 750 people sang along with him about protest songs, anarchism, and political upheaval.

The exciting opener Pints of Guinness Make You Stronger off of their 2002 debut Reinventing Axl Rose got the crowd moving with beer being spilled all over and a mosh pit insuring. The band then went straight into The Energizer, a song about Condoleezza Rice and world tensions. 

Other standouts of the set were High Pressure Low, Thrash Unreal, I Was a Teenage Anarchist, Americans Abroad, Turn These Clapping Hands into Angry Balled Fists and two songs about Gabel’s home state, Miami and Sink Florida, Sink.  

Overall, Against Me! Put on a wonderful set filled with energy and charisma that not many bands have these days. 

Definitely a must see.