It’s been a busy year for Chicago’s well-loved Rise Against, who have toured with Billy Talent, Pennywise, and The Used off the back of this year’s Nowhere Generation II E.P. Tonight's show is a part of their European tour following festival appearances at Download, Resurrection Fest, and more to top off the year before the band head out once again next year to join the highly anticipated blink-182 tour.
After their opener’s set, Rise Against casually wander onto stage with a wave to their huge audience in Brixton before leaping into set opener, “Re-education (through labour)” from the band’s most iconic album, Appeal to Reason. The setlist was in favor of the band’s most popular years, with 9 of the 14-track setlist featuring on their first few albums from 2006-2011, the sufferer & the witness, appeal to reason, and endgame. surprisingly, the band neglects both last year’s full-length album, nowhere generation, and this year’s E.P., nowhere generation II; proving rise against are crowd pleasers, and have no time to be indulgent. the crowd soaks it up, of course making the most noise for more noteworthy singles such as “make it stop (september’s children).”
Rise Against is not a band that plays with the attitude of an act approaching their twentieth year in their discography. Instead, they command their crowd as lead guitarist Zach Blair jolts onto his riser, pulling riff faces and conducting his audience as he raises his arms in the air in between his power chords. Vocalist Tim Mcllarth instructs the audience with his fist, punching the air for gang vocal elements of the tracks, mimicking the backdrop they’re playing against. Later on in the set, Mcllarth brings out a megaphone for “satellite,” an apt addition considering the politically urgent lyrical content. The set slows for a more intimate version of “hero of war,” played under spotlight with one acoustic guitar backed by the sound of the crowd backing the emotive lyrics.
Despite the purpose of this tour being an opportunity for the band to perform deep-cuts from their discography, they of course pull out the crowd pleasers “prayer of the refugee,” then close on “savior” to reinstate, as they have many times throughout the night, why they’re a staple band for so many alternative fans of the past two decades.
