Me First & The Gimme Gimmes have announced a new album, Blow it…at Madison’s Quinceañera!, which will be out June 14 via Fat Wreck Chords. As the title suggests, and with the same conceit as 2004’s …Ruin Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah, it has them playing crashing an actual 15-year-old’s quinceañera — recorded live on July 15, 2023 at The Soap Factory in San Diego — and nobody there knew who the band were.
“It was really tense for me going out to no applause—and to people actually walking away when we were playing,” says frontman Spike Slawson. “A Quinceañera is a very celebrated and important event, not just in a young girl’s life, but in the whole family’s. Mom and Dad were great, but it took the uncles a little while to warm up to me and our off-color jokes, though I think eventually they got it. Our process is to cast the line out and bring people to the point of—and beyond—outward expressions of displeasure like booing, and then hopefully reel them back in by the end of the set.”
The album has the band backed on a few songs by a horn section for the first time (plus Swami John Reis on accordion), playing to this unsuspecting birthday party audience their signature brand of punk covers of non-punk songs, including Olivia Rodrigo, ABBA, and more, plus mariachi classics and Quinceañera standard “La Ultima Muñeca.”
“I would like this to be considered indicative of what a live show by the Gimme Gimmes can be,” Spike says. “The only difference is that there would be people that wanted to hear us specifically and came to see us. What happened at this show, to me, is better than unfettered, unconditional applause from a lot of people. Golf-claps from about five people is how I want to hear a live record. It’s funny, and it doesn’t stop being funny. Not only do outward displays of disapproval not scare me, but I might even crave them a little bit. I don’t necessarily want to leave with people booing, but fawning praise makes me cringe. The girl had a good time, her mom and dad had a good time, her abuelo had a good time. And then when the DJ music finally played, her friends had a good time, too.”
You can listen to their take on ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” which works in a little of The Clash’s “Jenny Jones,” below.
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes are on tour now and play NJ’s Asbury Lanes on April 27 and NYC’s Irving Plaza on April 28. Both shows are with The Defiant and UltraBomb. All dates are listed below.
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes – Blow it…at Madison’s Quinceañera!
1. Changes
2. Love Will Keep Us Together
3. Dancing Queen
4. I Could Fall in Love
5. Estos Celos
6. La Ultima Muñeca
7. Happy Birthday
8. Por Tu Maldito Amor
9. Good 4 U
10. Queen of Hearts
11. Camino de Guanajuato
12. Before the Next Teardrop Falls
13. De Niña a Mujer
ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES – 2024 TOUR DATES
12 Apr 2024 in Chicago, IL, US @ House of Blues Chicago
13 Apr 2024 in Indianapolis, IN, US @ Old National Centre
14 Apr 2024 in Pittsburgh, PA, US @ Roxian Theatre
16 Apr 2024 in Cleveland, OH, US @ House of Blues – Cleveland
17 Apr 2024 in Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
19 Apr 2024 in Toronto, ON, Canada @ History
20 Apr 2024 in Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
21 Apr 2024 in South Burlington, VT, US @ Higher Ground Ballroom
23 Apr 2024 in Portland, ME, US @ State Theatre
24 Apr 2024 in Boston, MA, US @ Big Night Live
26 Apr 2024 in Philadelphia, PA, US @ Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)
27 Apr 2024 in Asbury Park, NJ, US @ Asbury Lanes
28 Apr 2024 in New York (NYC), NY, US @ Irving Plaza
30 Apr 2024 in Silver Spring, MD, US @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
2 May 2024 in Atlanta, GA, US @ Center Stage Theater
3 May 2024 in St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheater – Backyard Stage
4 May 2024 in Orlando, FL, US @ House of Blues Orlando
5 May 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, US @ Revolution Live
23 Jun 2024 in Zürich, Switzerland @ Saal, Dynamo
26 Jun 2024 in Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof Wiesbaden
28 Jun 2024 in Vienna, Austria @ Arena Wien
30 Jun 2024 in Ysselsteyn, NL @ Jera On Air
2 Jul 2024 in Paris, France @ La Machine du Moulin Rouge
4 Jul 2024 in Berlin, Germany @ Astra Kulturhaus