(all photos by Keith Klenowski)

In Each Note Secure’s interview with Mission of Burma guitarist Roger Miller this week, he seemed proud that multiple generations of listeners have latched on to the band’s music. The truth of this fact was apparent Wednesday night at the Southgate House, as the post-punk legends rocked a crowd peppered with both 80’s college rock survivors and young, skinny-legged hipsters.

It must be a nerve-wracking experience to open for the grandfathers of your musical influence. As such, openers Ampline and Knife the Symphony both performed admirably. For their part, Ampline rocked the house with a collection of guitar-noodling jams that recalled a Dinosaur Jr. more tuned in to post-punk than classic rock. All the ingredients were there; squealing Jazzmaster guitar, thundering bass, pummeling drums; but mixed with an ambitious, experimental tinge. Ampline certainly jammed out, but they weren’t afraid to throw in an ambient vocal sound loop or extended instrumental interlude for good measure.

Knife the Symphony also mixed straight rocking with careful experimentation: their blend of powerful guitar and bass work, intricate and impassioned drumming, post-hardcore yelping, and complicated song structure brought to mind a Drive Like Jehu more concerned with bombast than straight harshness. The songs were long and challenging, but the band’s energy kept them aloft throughout, and provided a great welcome mat for the headlining act.

Mission of Burma played with the confidence and easy-going nature of a band on a victory lap, which I suppose they are. They laughed and joked with the crowd and each other, seeming genuinely grateful for the overwhelmingly positive crowd response, as well as the simple chance to be onstage together. The group attacked their new songs with just as much passion and sincerity as their old classics, proving once again their exceptional validity as a post-punk revival act.

Throughout the ballroom, fans of widely varying ages formed a visual representation of Mission of Burma’s breadth and influence. The cult classics and new cuts affected both young and old with the same euphoric spirit, and, viewing the scene from the balcony, I saw just as many heads with gray or thinning hair bobbing to the beat as I did those with black bangs or curly manes. Mission of Burma deserve a lot a credit for having such an audience, and the audience gave it to them.

-review by John Crowell