Opening up the night for Rise Against are pop-punk favorites, The Story So Far. The two-band-bill means the band’s set is long enough to cover all bases of their discography as they approach their 13th year as a band. It appears that half the crowd may have come especially for this support slot, with a few central pits of movement, especially for two fan favorite tracks, “quicksand” and “things i can’t change,” from their first two records.
It is a bit of a running joke that The Story So Far are not a “showy” band, and if you’d like to see lead singer Parker Cannon get animated, you should probably buy a ticket to see his other band, No Pressure. While their songs are mostly upbeat and catchy with lyrical hooks, the band play their entire set in front of their banner with just a simple blue wash of light that never changes. Parker is a no-fuss performer, delivering his powerful gritty yells as he stands still for most of the set, gripping his mic stand. Every now and then, he does step a few feet to the front to hit out his arms in time with some of the band’s more notable riffs and to engage with the crowd just a little. The set is smooth with little chit chat as they waste no time jumping through the set list.
The crowd was amazingly energetic for a support band slot! Circles opened in the center of the crowd, nodding to the fact the band have still got some of those same fans they did when they started in house shows and basements as a quintessential pop-punk band, before they inevitably surged to success as “high regard” and “quicksand” became well loved on tumblr and music forums. That is not to say, however, that the band is riding the coattails of an era of glory days. Their performance is even more polished live for more recent tracks “nerve” and “upside down,” proving that they’re a band with staying power.
