Saved By The Last Song
Going by the mass of t shirts and hoodies paraded about amongst the crowd it is obvious that there is a large proportion of tonight’s crowd here to see the Windy City’s Rise Against suggesting that perhaps the band will claim the show as one of their own. With virtually every band before them tonight thanking the Chicago act for being so great on tour you get the impression that these guys are true professionals who can deliver a great show and still party hard with their touring companions, something that perhaps heaps too much pressure on the band to deliver.
As ‘Under The Knife’ gets things under way its clear why the melodic punk of the quartet is so popular as Tim McIrlath rips his vocal chords to shred for our enjoyment. A promising start that gains more momentum with ‘Behind Closed Doors’ and ‘State Of The Union’ allowing for the Rise Against faithful to break open their choral credentials in full force. But unfortunately the momentum becomes stagnant quickly as one song blends into another and even the crowd appear to loose interest. Loosing its usual dose of aggression, ‘Give It All’ simpers past wearily whilst ‘Blood To Bleed’ fails to enliven leaving it up to closer ‘Prayer Of Refuge’ to save the set which its does with ease, giving all a glimpse of what a normal Rise Against show is like. With its pop fuelled hooks transforming the reluctant circle pits into a dance floor ‘Prayer Of Refuge’ is like a tonic, making all realise why the Chicago band have such a following and thankfully helping to erase the weaker parts of the set from memory.