Against Me! – the most accessible folk-punk band in the world – took the stage around 7:30 yesterday and were all business, plowing through twenty or so samplings of their fierce, Guinness-fueled brand of melodic rock in around an hour and a half. Those who managed to sneak out of work early to catch a good spot in the not-quite sold out crowd left drained and ready for the caloric replenishment that only the venerable Ben’s Chili Bowl can provide – appropriately enough for a band who embodies the meat-and-potatoes punk rock ethos of beer, political awareness, and sing-with-me refrains.

It was apparent that being in the nation’s capital roused the easily-awoken political ire of the band, and they allowed their music to scream out in the chorus of songs like “White People for Peace.” Ferocious lyrics like “The President’s giving a speech in Georgetown to remember the voice of a slain civil rights leader/ Do you understand what the martyr stood for/Oh Condoleezza, do you get the fucking joke?” in “From Her Lips to God’s Ears (The Energizer)” were sung with extra gusto inside the heart of the political America.