Rise Against @ UNSW Roundhouse 30/11/06

1/12/2006


Rise Against @ UNSW Roundhouse 30/11/06


Judging by the enthusiasm of the gathering horde engulfing all sections of the Roundhouse, it was quite clear that anticipation level for Rise Against's return to Sydney was high. As those of us clever enough to come early ,and to be positioned in the makeshift beer garden, watched the que stretch out presumably onto Anzac Parade, it was obvious that Tim McIIrath and co.'s sold out show tonight was set to be a big 'un.

One thing that many love about Rise Against is their substitution of gimmicks and flashy bullshit stage tricks for the pure, energetic melodic hardcore that has become synonomous with their name. Appearing on stage to the chants of the anxious crowd, Rise Against roared into a ferocious rendition of 'Survive', followed by equally pit-swelling versions of 'Injection' and 'Blood to Bleed', Rise Against had the crowd under their spell from the start.The set list read primarily like a best of The Sufferer and the Witness and Siren Song of the Counter Culture, but there was still room for some older gems - 'Like The Angel' and the "circle-pit song" according to McIIrath 'Blood Red, White and Blue' from 2003's Revolutions Per Minute album were particuarly popular with the adoring masses.

Rise Against are a unit, lets not lose sight of that, but the incredible stage-prescence of frontman McIIrath is impossible to deny. As literally every word to every song was shouted back at him by the crowd, McIIrath almost appeared to channel that energy through himself, creating an undeniably charasmatic stage persona. This was most evident when the frontman appeared for the encore sans bandmates, performing only with an acoustic guitar for a version of a song from "our parents generation" titled 'Ohio', dedicated to university students from Kent State University who were killed and a beautiful version of 'Swing Life Away', before the rest of the group returned for the finale of 'Ready To Fall'.

Rise Against owned us all tonight. They are one of few bands today that actually manage to captivate the audience without the help of stage antics (masks anyone..). Tonight, Rise Against left a crowd of people who you, if you were fond of a bet, could put a reasonable wager on them returning next time the lads grace our shores with their prescence.