Billy Bragg, in interviews as well as live shows, has often talked about seeing the Clash live at 19 and how the event changed his whole perspective. I have a similar story with similar details: When I was 19, my view of the world was also changed forever, but instead of the Clash, it was Billy himself that was doing the inspiring — and the feelings he awakened in me during that first show I saw of his are still being ignited in teenagers today, 10 years later.

This past weekend I traveled from California to North Carolina to see the last two shows on Billy’s East Coast tour, planned as closely to Election Day as possible to drum up support for Barack Obama and to fire up all the lefties to get to the polls. (It worked!) The last show, on a crisp Sunday night in the beautiful hippie haven of Asheville, North Carolina, was one for the history books. The energy and enthusiasm from the crowd bounced off of Billy as he ripped through new songs and classics, and even added a few tunes that were not written on the set list. Opening with “Help Save the Youth of America,” the audience was immediately enraptured, and the fire in his voice and sparks from his guitar strings kept fans and performer alike excited throughout the entire two-hour set. “You guys are the most politicized mother—-ers I’ve seen yet!” he screamed after a rousing rendition of “There Is Power in a Union.”

As I watched from the side of the stage, I couldn’t help but stare at the devotees — teenagers, grey-haired folks and everyone in between singing every word together in perfect harmony. Surveying the front row was especially inspiring, as I saw a bunch of kids that were just as excited as I was at their age (and still am!) about being around like-minded people who were pumped up and ready to change the world.

However, a Billy Bragg gig is not without its tender moments, and you could hear a pin drop during “Levi Stubbs’ Tears,” sung in tribute to the recently departed leader of the Four Tops. During the between-song anecdotes everyone listened intently as well, although the respectful silence was occasionally peppered with a fist-pump accompanied by a shout of solidarity.

Balancing the personal with the political is something Billy excels at, so a few love songs (including classics like “The Saturday Boy” and “The Milkman of Human Kindness”) made it into the set, alongside activist anthems like “Old Clash Fan Fight Song” (”cooperation, not competition”), “NPWA” (”no power without accountability”), “Waiting For the Great Leap Forwards” (with updated lyrics such as, “We can’t defeat no axis of evil by putting smart bombs in the hands of dumb people”) and a retooled cover version of Bob Marley’s “One Love” (in which the lyrics were changed to “one love / one heart / let’s drop the debt and it will be alright”). Bragg even led the audience in a dance he’d made up for the latter!

Closing with a rousing rendition of his most beloved tune, “A New England,” Billy tore the proverbial roof off of the Orange Peel, and proved that while punk rock itself can’t change the world, it certainly can inspire YOU to.

Check out all of April’s uploads at YouRHere.MTV.com …