It’s odd that a band like Rise Against have this unpredictability factor about their live appearances. Musically, they’ve fallen deep into a holding pattern of broad, powerful punk that continues to serve its purpose, but not to the level of their best. That doesn’t seem to be changing, either; if any descriptor perfect encapsulated their new single Nod, it’d be that. However, their past few stops in Manchester have seen them zipping round the city, playing venues of varying sizes without that much consistency. And somehow, despite a perceived lack of uptick in traction, they’ve ended up in the O2 Victoria Warehouse, one of the biggest of them. It’s more a shock in a vacuum, to be fair. On the ground, you’ll find a significant amount of the faithful, not falling cleanly into any one age demographic or musical tribe. It’s the impact of a band who hit their stride on day one and have never really broken it. The widespread appeal of Rise Against is ultimately as constant as their output.
Of course, there’s potentially another reason that people have flocked out in their droves to this warehouse in the middle of nowhere, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Still, it’s worth noting, seeing as Spiritual Cramp don’t get nearly as much back as they give out. It’s the sole disappointing piece within a set that goes off with remarkable ease and proceeds to stay at that level for its duration. Whereas they initially stand out most for a dedicated programmer / tambourinist, frontman Michael Bingham isn’t one to let the attention drift from him. It’s the Mick Jagger side to him, this wiry, sharp-dressed rockstar at the head of a punk outfit where his wiry energy can barely keep contained. When he’s doing his big jumps and swinging the mic cord around on Herbert’s On Holiday, a backdrop of rich, propulsive punk not hampered in a single way by live constraints is as close to perfect as it comes. Even for a crowd reaction that’s tentatively approving at best, Spiritual Cramp are bringing everything they need in spades.
But then there’s L.S. Dunes, and all they need is a single man within their ranks. To be fair, as far as instances of singleminded fervour that have brought people out for a glimpse at Frank Iero, this is nowhere close to its height. If anything, it’s actually nice how much Iero assimilates into the lineup, even if he and frontman Anthony Green sorta have to be the twin focuses. At least for Green, it’s in his exaggerated gesticulations and strident, striking voice that’s often nail-sharp in his screams. The desire to show up is there, rather than just embrace being a parade of emo stalwarts, and credit where it’s due—L.S. Dunes’ material is a lot better in the live arena. The fat, winding bass and swaddle of feedback around the guitars give it a lived-in feel for the most part. Granted, as soon as the tempo drops even slightly, the fiddly, squealing instability in the guitar comes out, and slices through everything. It makes L.S. Dunes easily the most uneven of tonight’s three bands, even if you can tell they’re trying their hardest to fight through it, and closing with 2022 does make forthe best culmination of their strengths. Conflicted overall, then, but leaning towards the positive, if only for being able to bring out more of themselves.
For Rise Against, though, there are no such deliberations. They’ve been locked into these big spaces for ages, and it couldn’t show more clearly. It does need to be said, however, that Tim McIlrath carries a static, almost sleepy demeanour for the first half of opener Satellites. It’s quick to get brushed away, thankfully; when he pulls out his megaphone for his most rabble-rousing silhouette, it’s like a whole new performer. And even then, it’s a small aberration on the bigger picture. The band themselves sound great, thick and full from the start with melodies accentuated when kicking off their gallop and rattle. Even if Joe Principe’s bass bulk clouds some rather shoddy vocal mixing for McIlrath, you can tell this is a unit that gets on (fittingly) like a house on fire.
As it’s always been, their righteous populism is where Rise Against excel the most. As uncomfortable as some may find their difference splitting of progressive beliefs with the machinations of ‘corporate’ punk—the most explicitly political they get, on any subject, is chiding the “12-year-olds in the White House”—the rarely falter when making the outcome enormous and engorging. The first big example is Give It All, where the shakily-mixed McIlrath is effectively left to play hypeman while the crowd fully takes over. Adding to that, while tonight’s set isn’t an exhaustive collection of their biggest hits, Rise Against clearly have the tools to make it all work. Blood To Bleed is a rather clunky comedown after a supercharged Help Is On The Way, but Zach Blair’s noodling solo and array of guitar gurns take it over the line. Later, while the on-brand-ness of Nod is only magnified when around its own kind, its bounce and tenacity are perfectly flush with the rest of the live canon.
It should also be mentioned how tonight’s setlist has been drastically retooled from the rest of the UK run, almost front to back and in some positive ways. It’s unclear why bigger hits like Give It All or Audience Of One were omitted but they sound fantastic when filling the room tonight. Likewise, there’s such a ripple of excitement when Hero Of War joins its acoustic brother-in-arms Swing Life Away for such a clear singalong break (as pyrrhic as the victory may be when it swaps out People Live Here). It’s a bold shift in direction for a band like Rise Against, who otherwise have their sights set on arena-filling scale. Still, it’s not like that’s missing; the plumes of CO2 that erupt during Tragedy + Time and Prayer Of The Refugee suggest their gaze hasn’t changed. But there’s also not an obvious mechanisation that sands back any and all personality or deeper fire. If McIlrath’s riffing on English sports and Bovril says anything (and it’s certainly nothing about either topic), it’s that there’s still a vested effort to make connection while still keeping the explosions coming thick and fast. Savior rounds things out to show that off in the best way—grand and powerful and raucous in equal measure. It’s why Rise Against are right up there with the best at what they do.
Words by Luke Nuttall
