Rise Against have been on a mission to bring their raucous brand of politically charged hardcore punk to every venue in Manchester following their show at the Ritz last August. This show brings them to Victoria Warehouse along with Spiritual Cramp and LS Dunes.
Spiritual Cramp played first and despite the hip-hop intro, there was a lot of 70s punk inspiration to their sound, particularly The Ramones. One of the benefits of being part of a genre that has existed for close to 50 years is there are endless parts of the genre to take inspiration from and it seems like Spiritual Cramp takes pride in how learned they are.
You can see them blending elements of The Ramones, Black Flag and even more modern rock bands like The Hives which is evidenced by frontman Michael Bingham and his bizarre crowd interactions and the almost uniform inclusion of rather dapper sweater vests.
There’s even a 90s alternative rock vibe during songs like ‘Hope is On Holiday’ which feels like it could comfortably sit in the Smashing Pumpkins discography. There’s a lot going on in their sound and the energy matches it as Bingham erratically swings the microphone while expertly dodging his band mates. Be sure to check out ‘Young Thing’ for some 70s punk performed with a modern perspective.
LS Dunes were next and to say this band had an all-star lineup would be an understatement. Featuring members of Saosin, Thursday, Coheed and Cambria and My Chemical Romance, LS Dunes were a big draw for many in the audience. From a cursory glance, this combination of artists seemed to make vastly different music which is typically what makes a supergroup exciting. “Let the rhythm take you” was the first thing vocalist Anthony Green said before the show started and he began his brilliant impression of what Lorde would look like if she was to start two-stepping.
Much like Spiritual Cramp, there’s a wide spectrum of influences on display from midwest emo to hardcore punk to shoegaze, there’s something for everyone in their back catalogue. It’s strange to think that all these members would come together and create something that barely resembles their original projects, you’d be hard-pressed to find a song that sounds even remotely similar to Coheed and Cambria or My Chemical Romance but that’s what a side project is for at the end of the day.
Rise Against finally came on to the clean rhythmic tones of ‘Satellite’ before exploding into the song properly. Those who’d been keeping track of this tour on SetlistFM knew that the setlist has been changing nightly, save for some mainstays like ‘Savior,’ ‘Prayer of the Refugee’ and ‘Nod,’ the setlist was entirely unpredictable.
There were still a wealth of classics like the anthemic ‘Give it All,’ the punchy and fast-paced ‘Blood Red White and Blue’ and the deeply emotional ‘Long Forgotten Sons’. There’s something that represents each era of Rise Against’s extensive history. The band have been around for over 20 years and you can still see that they put everything into their live show and showcase the same burning passion for music they did back when ‘Sufferer and the Witness’ and ‘Siren Song of the Counter Culture’ came out.
Tim McIlrath still sounds as voracious as ever and it’s all the more impressive that he can balance his melodic sensibilities with blind aggression while performing some extremely fast hardcore punk riffing. Despite the band being so overtly political and vocal about their leaning, they largely kept quiet throughout the show opting to let the politically charged lyricism speak for itself but it’s clear that practically everyone was on the same page in terms of their politics and progressive outlook on the world.
The set contained a slow acoustic segment which included the harrowing tale of a young man going off to war, ‘Hero of War’ is a beautifully written song that depicts the horrible atrocities committed by a soldier in pursuit of a pipe dream of bettering yourself sold to them by their own government. It’s a harrowing story that is unfortunately true for so many people and will become a reality for many more people in the future. The audience knew every single word to this song as well as ‘Swing Life Away,’ which is a much lighter song in comparison but still has the same emotional weight albeit for completely different reasons.
The show continued with classics like ‘Prayer of the Refugee’ and ‘Savior’ as well as the new track: ‘Nod,’ which I was sceptical about at first but translated really well to a live setting and managed to win me over as a new fan. Rise Against may be an older band now but you can always depend on them to bring the same energy they would have back in their 20s as we enter one of the most tumultuous political landscapes in recent memory. Thank god we still have punk to help ease the pain.
