As summer winds down and bands dust themselves off in preparation for gig season, Rise Against expelled every last ounce of festival vibes by bringing it indoors, with the Ritz in Manchester turning into Wacken for a night. It was packed to the brim, and not even the tiniest atom could fit in through a vacuum of space.
Trash Boat were the only support group and with that came the extra responsibility of getting Manchester in the right mood for what was to come. Knowing that Rise Against were only going to play two UK shows, leaving a solid impression was a must if travelling fans wanted to show up and see them instead of headliners only.
Thankfully, they weren’t phased by the pressure and brought wide smiles to a rapidly filling venue. Having made a short trip from St Albans, the punk rockers put on an impressive display of melodic aggression. Mixing hardcore, punk and metalcore, it was the ideal sound that got people clicking and not once was there a sigh of boredom throughout their set.
Tobi Duncan on vocals assumed responsibility of spreading life into the Ritz and he didn’t even need to ask twice as just a couple of songs in, the floor was already shaking with some audience members jumping up and down. Presence aside, he did a great job musically with smooth transitions between clean and harsh vocals while both guitarists and bassist (Dann, Ryan, James) endlessly danced around the stage nonstop as if they were at a disco ball on a Saturday night. Meanwhile, Oakley Moffatt sprung into action on drums and kept 100% concentrated on the task at hand with extreme passion and you could tell just by his expressions that his entire soul was immersed in the moment. It may have been a short performance but it was more than enough to convince us that they would be welcomed back with open arms next time.
By the interval, the venue had filled out completely and no one was going to head for the exit doors until Rise Against had thrown every last setlist, guitar pick and drumstick to fans whether that meant breaking the bank for an overnight hotel stay after missing transport home. As soon as the lights went out and ‘Satellite’ was played, the whole place erupted and anyone who cheered at the top of their lungs would’ve lost their voices on the spot. Had England won the Euros then this is what it would’ve looked like, as for the next 90 minutes, the sense of unity stood out strongly.
While punk has always been known as a political rock subgenre and at times divisive, Rise Against have remarkably found a way to use social commentary as a tool to unite people of all backgrounds where minorities who don’t have a voice in many places find hope at a show and you could see just how much it meant to them. Songs like ‘Make It Stop (September’s Children)’ for instance is a fierce criticism of Homophobia that resulted in teen suicides and offers hope to those struggling with their identities while ‘Help Is on the Way’ tells a story about Hurricane Katrina and the failures of helping victims of the disaster.
Performance-wise, they were flawless and brought festival season to an epic close. For anyone who missed out on tickets to any major events like Hellfest, Wacken or Bloodstock this year, then they got a brutal taste of it in a 1500-capacity venue. If Municipal Waste thought that their world record for crowd surfers was untouchable, they might want to be wary of it being broken as a mega tsunami of hyperactive fans kept crashing down on the barricade shore in mass numbers like debris from a shipwreck.
Tim Mcllrath on lead vocals and rhythm guitars barely needed to move around onstage as just the sight of him was hypnotising. His voice acted like a conductor’s baton to get us singing along and any gap containing silence was filled with a cacophony of fans singing their hearts out like national anthems in sports stadiums. Even if a powercut happened, crowds could finish a song and his contagious presence was strong enough to reach Oxford Road station. Not only is Tim a great singer, but he also stole the show on rhythm guitars. Once he picked up that instrument, it gave him a nod of approval that it was their time to shine together like the chemistry between Romeo and Juliet where one was made for another.
Lead guitarist Zach Blair and drummer Brandon Barnes also got a piece of the action as they helped bring back vintage memories of older audiences reliving their youth back when MTV, Scuzz and Kerrang were what you’d rock out to in a trashy room full of cassette tapes. Brandon turned up with a point to prove that even if you’re at the back and get less attention, you’ll smash it out of the park. His technique was extremely smooth and the tempo changes dictated fans’ movements because whenever he sped up after a breakdown, they were bouncing as if they were at a rave. Zach provided us with the much needed icing on the cake with some lovely harmonies and solos as well as backing vocals to act like a megaphone, raising awareness of everything that’s going wrong in the world.
By the end of the show, the Ritz was as hot as Death Valley, beer taps had run dry and anyone hungover would need a good reason to justify missing work the following day with Rise Against taking intimate performances to a whole new level. Once again, the Chicago group surpassed expectations and if they can unite just one city like this, then I can only imagine what a capital one will be like next.
