Rise Against Held a State Of The Union Address in Brooklyn

Rise Against have just started their Fall North American Tour and it has already been going off the rails. The tour just made a stop at the Brooklyn Paramount in Brooklyn, New York and the city showed up for Rise Against. The show also saw L.S. Dunes and Spiritual Cramp supporting.

For the fans that lined up early, they got to see the first band, Spiritual Cramp. Spiritual Cramp is a punk band from San Francisco, California that was formed in 2017. While being considered a punk band, their sound incorporates elements from a variety of genres like reggae, alternative and new wave. The band is singed to Blue Grape Music and is made up of Michael Bingham (vocals), Jacob Breeze (guitar), Nate Punty (guitar), Mike Fenton (bass), Jose Luna (keyboards) and Julian Smith (drums). Spiritual set a very upbeat and catchy mood to start off the night. Their set brought energy and had a very upbeat sound to it. They reminded me of 70's punk and new wave like The Clash and The Talking Heads. The bright guitar sound by Breeze and Punty showed it too. Bingham is anti-government and anti-police and wasnt afraid to show it, calling both out before closing their set out. The band brought the 70's and 80's new wave vibe to kick the night off in Brooklyn and the next band was about to fast forward it to the 2000s.

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Next up was the fresh supergroup rock band known as L.S. Dunes. The band has only been around for two yeas, having formed in 2022 and have gained a huge following almost immediately. This is largely because of its members; Anthony Green (Saosin, Circa Survive) (vocals), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) (guitar), Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) (guitar), Tim Payne (Thursday) (bass), Tucker Rule (Thursday) (drums), all members of widely known post-hardcore/emo bands. So far, the band has only one album, Past Lives, which was released in 2022. L.S. Dunes took it up a notch and brought more energy, intensity, and punk to the show. The fans got amped up instantly and started to mosh and crowd surf. Green spotted a fan crowdsurfing and brought her close to the stage and sang the words to "Like Forever" to her directly. L.S. Dunes put out a new song last Friday called "Machines" and played the song live for the first time at the show. A few more screams, aggressive riffs and intense energy on songs like "Permanent Rebellion", "Past Lives" and "Fatal Deluxe" and L.S. Dunes finished off with a bang and left the crowd amped up for the main event.

Last but not least, was the main event of the evening Rise Against. Rise Against has been a band for 25 years, having formed in 1999 and have been the forefront band in political and social issues. Their lyrics of political injustice, animal rights, environmentalism and social issues that have spanned over nine studio albums have earned them recognition and a dedicated following. Today, the band consists of Tim McIlrath (vocals/guitar), Zach Pair (guitar), Joe Principe (bass), and Brandon Barnes (drums).

The opening guitar strumming and McIlrath singing the opening lyrics to "Satellite" singaled what they were gonn a start with. Fans sang along immediately and smoke went off on the stage and the rest of the band kicked in. The pit opened up into a circle pit and other fans started crowd surfing. The band didn't hold back and kept the momentum going on "Under The Knife". McIlrath mentioned that they were playing songs they don't normally play live and they did that by playing the rarely played "Architects" next. For this tour, Rise Against was switching their set every night and cycling in between songs so they could play as many as they could and even brought out some deep cuts. Some deep cuts included "Heaven Knows" and "State of the Union" which are taken from their first two albums Revolutions per Minute and Siren Song Of The Counter-Culture respectively.

McIlrath praised New York and reminisced how the band has been playing the state for years, having their first New York show at CBGBs in the early 2000's and named Irving Plaza as one of their favorite spots to play in the city. Being that the Brooklyn Paramount was a new place, McIlrath was shocked when they found oout thats where the show was gonna be and was happy to hear about another venue in New York that hosts shows. The band went back into it and played "Ready To Fall" and "Behind Closed Doors" which saw more moshing, more circle pitting and more crowd surfing.

After ripping through "Long Forgotten Sons" and "House on Fire", the band then slowed things down for a bit and McIlrath brought out his acoustic guitar. After talking to the crowd a bit more, he introduced the next song "Hero of War". McIlrath accidentally messed up and played the opening notes to "Swing Life Away". He then gave the crowd a choice; should they play "Hero of War" or "Swing Life Away"? The crowd responded the loudest to "Hero of War" so that was what they got. The crowd joined him in singing the words. McIlrath and Pair played the majority of the song acoustically then finished the song with the full band returning to the stage. The band then played "Swing Life Away" anyway and McIlrath dedicated it to a friend of his who lives in New York.

Fans knew immediately was the next song was, as its instantly recognized by its opening guitar tune. It was time for "Prayer of the Refugee". One minute people were standing and singing along to the melodic verse, then the next second, they broke out into a massive mosh pit on the song's instense chorus. It's hilarious seeing how it can go from soft and meldoic and calm, to chaotic and fast in an instant on the same song. I found myself caught in the middle of the pit after forgetting they had one more chorus left and was getting swung around constantly. The band finished the song and walked off stage, ending the main portion of the set.

After letting the fans chant "one more song" a few times, Rise Against came back out and began the encore with the opening chant to "Make It Stop (September's Children)". Smoke went off on the stage again and the mosh pit broke out once again. The fans kept the pit open by jogging in a circle the entire time and the crowd surfing continued. The band went old school for the next one and McIlrath called for a circle pit on it. The whole pit ran in a massive circle while the band revisited their second studio album Revolutions per Minute with "Blood-Red, White & Blue". The night was just about over and Rise Against had one more song left and yes, it was THAT song. Both McIlrath and the fans sang the opening lyrics together and the band and the pit both gave everything they had left. The band extended its instrumental transition into the bridge by breaking out into an impromptu jam with both McIlrath and Pair shredding out guitar solos. The whole room let out one last chant with the band to close out the night.

I've seen Rise Against perform at festivals but never at a headlining show of their own and it's a completely different experience. The sound, the energy and the crowd makes up the whole show for Rise Against. Their dedicated fanbase makes them stronger and helps spread the messages they make in their songs further. This was a fantastic show filled with surprises and I can't wait to see them again and hopefully with new music too.