After Rise Against released Revolutions Per Minute in 2003, they found themselves at a crossroads. They were to bound to go one of two ways: become a cult favorite in melodic hardcore over the years, putting out mostly consistent albums on independent labels all the way; or sign to a major label while retaining some punk roots and achieve moderate commercial success with fluctuating results in musical achievement. Obviously, Rise Against chose the latter.
Nonetheless, bringing out Alkaline Trio, Thrice and the Gaslight Anthem made for a show that was hard to miss -- regardless of a venue's 3500-person capacity, ample barricade space and high merch prices thanks to the venue taking a cut in those sales.
The Gaslight Anthem was perfect. Well, "Miles Davis & the Cool" would've made for an absolutely splendid midpoint in the set list, but you couldn't complain. The band played their great songs in casual form, never missing a beat and hitting up most of the standouts from both full-lengths. They definitely had less talk and more rock in mind for their half-hour slot. This essentially being the hometown stop for Jersey's finest, they had plenty in the crowd singing along heartily. It's rare you see the first openers get any reception at all of bigger shows like this, so it was pleasing to see them embraced so warmly (even though it was by members of their own fanbase).
Set list:
- Great Expectations
- Wooderson
- The '59 Sound
- Old White Lincoln
- We Came to Dance
- Meet Me by the River's Edge
- I Coulda Been a Contender
- The Backseat
Set list:
- Firebreather
- The Melting Point of Wax
- Blood Clots and Black Holes
- Music Box
- The Sky Is Falling
- The Messenger
- Helter Skelter (The Beatles cover) [may be out of order]
- Broken Lungs
- Betrayal Is a Symptom
- The Earth Will Shake
Set list:
- Private Eye
- Calling All Skeletons
- I Lied My Face Off
- I Found Away
- In Vein
- Goodbye Forever
- Over and Out
- Crawl
- Help Me
- This Could Be Love
Lou Koller came out for some guest vocals on one song. "Who's Sick of It All?" asked a girl in her mid-20s to her boyfriend. Later I overheard them making fun of Rise Against during "Stained Glass and Marble": "Rarrrr! Metal songssss!"
What could've been acknowledged as an encore occurred when the entire band walked off stage, with Tim and Zach Blair returning to play "Hero of War" from the latest deal, Appeal to Reason. Say what you will about the song musically, but at least it crawls further from sounding like a Staind song (as the band was getting dangerously close to that territory with every passing ballad) and the lyrics are pretty vicious. Seeing people hold up lighters and cell phones to illuminate the area became uncomfortably weird when McIlrath sang, "They took off his clothes / They pissed in his hands / I told them to stop / But then I joined in."
He followed it right up with the megahit, "Swing Life Away," which I distinctly remember him saying he wrote about something (Chicago?). My point here is that he claimed he wrote it, failing to mention Neil Hennessy's contributions to it. C'mon dude, take that opportunity for a shoutout at least. Anyway, it was quite obviously the most well-received song, and the lighters made a little more sense this time around.
The set closed with "Prayer of the Refugee," a song I've heard far too many times thanks to Guitar Hero-loving friends.
According to the aforementioned Ryan Schultz, the band was joined by Fat Mike at one point and covered "Minor Threat" the second night. Another bummer. Chuck Ragan (the Blender Theatre, Monday, with Tim Barry and Ben Nichols), Alkaline Trio (here and the next night) and Dillinger Four (Brooklyn, Tuesday) need to sort something out where they quit playing New York City the same day or the next.
I have fond memories of seeing Rise Against on the Fat Tour in early 2003 at Long Island's now-defunct The Downtown (no barricade, three foot high stage, 450-cap). But hey, if this is the stuff that inspires widespread political activism (as well as magnanimous circle pits and near-constant pogo-ing), so be it.
Set list [somewhat in order]:
- Drones
- Chamber the Cartridge
- Give It All
- State of the Union
- Ready to Fall
- Injection
- Re-Education Through Labor
- Stained Glass and Marble
- Behind Closed Doors
- Life Less Frightening
- Like the Angel
- Collapse
- Bricks
- Broken English
- The Good Left Undone
- Hero of War (Tim and Zach Blair)
- Swing Life Away (Tim solo)
- Survive
- Under the Knife
- Prayer of the Refugee