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Photo credit: Ken Leanfore |
18 July 2011
Saturday July 16
Entertainment Centre, Sydney, NSW
Entertainment Centre, Sydney, NSW
After 12 years, six albums, a plethora of lineup changes, and enough world tours to rival a business class trolley-dolly, one wouldn’t think it's just not possible for Rise Against to get any better.
Tim McIlrath, co-founding bassist Joe Principe, fourth-year guitarist Zach Blair and seasoned drummer Brandon Barnes shot this theory into oblivion at Sydney’s Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.
Opening with Chamber the Cartridge, McIlrath bounded onstage sans guitar and belted out his vocals to an arena of admiring nods. Principe wasted no time in showing off his high kicks and punk jumps; he bounced his way through new track Satellite and old favourites The Good Left Undone, Heaven Knows and Re-Education (Through Labor) which saw a back drop fall of Rise Against’s symbol overlapping the American flag.
“I want tonight to be a celebration, I want tonight to be a fucking party,” yelled McIlrath, sweating bullets. “In the last year a lot has happened to the four of us; I bet a lot has happened to you, but if you made it here tonight it means you fucking survived, so this song is for you.”
The band seared into Survive before a sea of closed fists and sporadic circle pits. New Endgame singles Make It Stop (September’s Children) and Help Is On The Way saw McIlrath drenched in red light, his right arm held up in helpless concern for the tracks’ muses before he repeatedly pounded his fist hard against his heart.
Security were put to full use for the whole set as a rolling queue of bodies flowed consistently over the barrier. McIlrath reached down and shook the hand of one floating fan during The Dirt Whisperedbefore he tumbled onto a guard and was marched back to the masses.
The band exited and McIlrath stood alone on acoustic guitar. “How's my general admission main floor here, you all right?” They answered in screams… ”Well Australia I've missed you so here's a love song alright?” The dizzying sway of mobile phone lights filled the venue for sing-along ballad, Swing Life Away.
Guitarist Zach Blair returned to join McIlrath on acoustic for Hero Of War. “That was nice, me and Sydney had a moment over here,” McIlrath joked. “I dunno if you saw that Zach.”
Three zealous fans used the break to attempt a three-tiered people tower. “Whoa we've got fucken’ Cirque du Soleil over here!” he laughed. “You guys can break whatever you want we've got paramedics back there.”
During final tracks Architects and Ready To Fall, Principe was all high kicks and silly skips while McIlrath asked us to sing at the top of our lungs - “Now I’m shouting on the rooftop ready to fall!”
“I've heard some loud voices here in Sydney,” the singer stroked our egos. “I've seen some crazy shit here in Sydney.”
Security handed out cups of water to ready us for the three-track encore of Entertainment, Saviour and Give It All. An intricate guitar solo after an epic session of warring guitars sent us off with McIlrath’s scream in mind-blowing form as he wailed “I don’t hate you, I don’t hate you!”
The four black-clad punks didn’t offer any visual bells and whistles or special effects, what they did offer was a tight, ballsy set that was as perfect as it was anarchic.
He thanked Australia’s Sea Shepards who the band had spent the day with and before he swung his mic high and fast like a warrior readying a spiked bommy-knocker, he said: “If you put your heart into something you can make a difference.”
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