LIVE: ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES – Orlando, FL, USA – May 4, 2024
Venue: House of Blues Orlando
City: Orlando, FL
Date: May 4, 2024
Review and Photographs by: James Zambon (https://jameszambon.com/portfolios/concerts/)
Ultrabomb came onstage and immediately launched into their set with an explosive display of punk rock prowess getting the audience excited like only an old-school style punk rock band can. Not knowing much about them, but enjoying their sounds and performance, I was getting nostalgic about my teenage years listening to similar sounding bands the likes of Black Flag, and Hüsker Dü. So I was totally shocked with the covered “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely” by Hüsker Dü. The Defiant’s frontman, Dicky Barrett, totally knows how to play to a crowd. He came on stage wearing a bright yellow “House of Blues – Event Staff” jacket, and sunglasses, and immediately got the energy flowing. By the time they left the stage the mosh pit was churning, and the fun atmosphere was set for the headliners. To call Me First and the Gimme Gimmes a “superband” is selling them short. These guys are fun, funny, and incredibly musically talented. When I first heard them back in 1996 on a compilation album “Fat Music Vol 2, Survival of the Fattest” with their cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” I was hooked from then, and yet, somehow this was my first time seeing them live. They took the stage and immediately fired into Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and the crowd went nuts. I could hear them screaming over the monitors, with my earplugs in. Their energy and banter, both between band members, and the audience continued throughout the evening. The incredibly fun covers, their musicality, the jokes, and the energy all made for one hell of a night. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes delivered a concert experience that was nothing short of unforgettable. I can’t wait for them to tour again!
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Setlist: Jolene (Dolly Parton) – Straight Up (Paula Abdul) – Love Will Keep Us Together (Neil Sedaka) – Karma Chameleon (Culture Club) – Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (Andrew Lloyd Webber) – (Ghost) Riders in the Sky (Stan Jones and his Death Valley Rangers) – Sloop John B. (The Beach Boys) – Me and Julio Down by the School Yard (Paul Simon) – Nobody Does it Better (Carly Simon) – Estos celos (Vincente Fernandez) – Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver) – On the Road Again (Willie Nelson) – Dancing Queen (ABBA) – Mandy (Barry Manilow) – Danny’s Song (Loggins & Messina) – good 4 u (Olivia Rodrigo) – All My Loving (The Beatles) – Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen) – I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) – Before the Next Teardrop Falls (Freddy Fernandez) – Science Fiction / Double Feature (Richard O’Brien) – Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) (Elton John) – End of the Road (Boyz II Men)
The Defiant Setlist: Everybody Loves Me – How We Got Away (The Might Mighty BossToneS) – One Reason or Another – These Shoes – We Make Drugs – No Nothing – As One – Where Did Lady Liberty Go – Where Were You – It Is Over – Dead Language
Ultrabomb Setlist: Time to Burn – Fear Your Gods – Doggo – ?? – Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely (Hüsker Dü) – Stickman vs Hangman – Star – Like the Wind – New Day Rising (Hüsker Dü)
ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES LINKS:
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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries