Characterized by the comforting drone of a standup bass countered by crazyfast guitar riffs, Andrew Jackson Jihad is folk-punk at its finest – possibly because they’re the only band I can think to describe as folk-punk. The band is comprised of Sean Bonnette, owner of big glasses and wailing vocals and a laugh carefree enough to make you smile by accident accompanied by standup bass connoisseur Ben Gallaty.

To start off their concert at SOMA San Diego last Wednesday night, the pair jumped into the most ‘hectic’ of their songs first. This included several  of their large-in-name, large-in-heart album “People That Can Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World”.

After the first few songs, some guy yelled “PLAY FIREWORK!” Bonnette responded by exploring the motives behind Katy Perry’s “Firework” video. “Oh, your friends are making fun of you? It’s okay! You’re a firework,” he said. This was reflective of most of the concert, which was fueled by spontaneity and crowd suggestion.

At the end of one of their songs, the band included a surprise kazoo solo to the cheers of most of the audience. As a break from their tamer songs, the band played their fastest tune “Bad Bad Things,” which produced a small, friendly folk mosh.  Other notable inclusions to their spontaneous set list were tracks “Personal Space Invader” and “People II: The Reckoning.”

Andrew Jackson Jihad’s winning combination of the fastest acoustic guitar you’ve ever heard plus its irresistible band members (I’m not just saying that because they’re going to read this) made this concert a perfect balance of punk and smiles.