Strike Anywhere Remind Us To Dance
Strike Anywhere tearing up the Ottobar—photo by kim moenich
One band that I will forever make every effort to go see when they are on tour is Strike Anywhere. I still have vivid memories of seeing them for the first time at the Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill on one of their very first tours back in November 2000. We went to see Hot Water Music and Alkaline Trio (the latter still being a real punk band back then), and I remember being absolutely blown away by this crazy, dreadlocked singer who was bouncing all over the stage and screaming his head off. I had listened to Thomas’s band, Inquisition, quite a bit back in the mid 90s, but I had never seen them live, so seeing his new band was nothing short of amazing. Saw them again a few months later with Avail and Ann Beretta (also ex members of Inquisition), and that whole lineup blew the roof off the Cradle! A quarter of a century later and I’ve seen Strike Anywhere a few dozen times now, and each time is better than the last.
Always playing to the crowd. Strike Anywhere at the Ottobar. photo by kim moenich
When I saw Strike Anywhere was doing a limited tour with one of my new favorites, Dave Hause and The Mermaid (yes, I am VERY late to that game!), I had to go. I was hoping to catch them with 40 reps, whom I’ve written about a few times now, but alas, that was not in the cards. I was, however, able to make it to the show at the legendary Ottobar in Baltimore—one of the greatest independent venues still in operation in the US. This brought a local Baltimore act to the tour, the absolutely incredible Over Our Eyes. This quartet formed in B-more in 2014 and released their second album, Paper Ships, back in 2022. These guys really have it, with a sound that shares vibes with Hot Water Music and their stage mates, Dave Hause. Over Our Eyes sing songs you want to sing along to. Check them out on Bandcamp and Instagram, and make sure to catch them if they play a town near you.
Terrible lighting plus the whole band wearing ball caps didn’t make for great photos, so you have to go see Over Our Eyes for yourself! photo by kim moenich
To be honest, I have no idea how Dave Hause stayed off my radar for so many years. I absolutely love his music, and he runs in the same circles as all the bands I listen to. Thankfully, I found him a few years ago, and I’ve gotten a chance to see him about half a dozen times since. I giggled to myself a bit as I looked around the crowd of white-haired ladies, thinking, “I really hope they go to the back before Strike Anywhere starts!” But Dave is a lover, not a fighter, despite having some pretty fast and loud punk rock songs. He sings about long lost love on summer nights, but he does it in a way that jars you out of your melancholy and makes you scream along. The crowd had fists in the air, tugging at their shirts as they belted out the words they all knew so well. One couldn’t help but get swept up in the moment, and that’s what makes a Dave Hause show so memorable.
But I was, ultimately, there to scream my own head off to the anti-fascist badasses that are Strike Anywhere. Last time I saw them was at the Bouncing Souls Home for the Holidays show in Asbury Park at the end of 2024. They played an insane after-show in a hotel ballroom, where my friend Tim (whom I had met at an Avail/Strike Anywhere show a few years back) was crowd surfing and nearly pulled the roof down. They are the band that my husband will tell you makes me dance harder than any other. And this night was no exception. A “show friend” (someone I met through the scene), Karin, had met me at Ottobar, and the last time we saw each other in person was while watching Strike Anywhere at Fest a couple of years ago. Like me, Karin is a 90’s hardcore kid who still goes absolutely nuts at the stage when the good bands play. We screamed and danced, all while I was trying to get in a few good photos, because the band had been kind enough to put my name on the photo list. It had been a rough few weeks, both personally and politically, and this was the outlet I so desperately needed at that moment. Strike Anywhere sings about the things that matter to me: women’s rights, the terror of late-stage capitalism, and the horrors of police brutality. When I hear the first chords of “To The World," their 2003 anthem that holds even more true now than it did two decades ago, I feel all the rage for this despicable administration boil up and explode out of me. This is the song for this moment, for the punk movement that is here to stand up for those who can’t stand for themselves. Thank you, Thomas, Matt, Erik, Garth, and Mark, for being our voice in a time when those in power want us silenced. And thank you for making me dance.
Side note: One of the highlights of the show was this little ripper who Dave noticed standing off to the side of the stage. The punk rock kiddo (name withheld by me) spent all night crowd surfing and holding his own. The kids are alright!
