Aug 24

Aug 24 Show Review: Rise Against Return Triumphantly To San Francisco With Descendents and The Menzingers

Rise Against
w/ Descendents, The Menzingers
The Masonic
San Francisco, CA
August 22nd, 2021

Photos and review by Jared Stossel

To say I was both excited and nervous would be an understatement. Not only would this be the first show since the pandemic in which I would be stepping back into a photo pit again, but it would be the first indoor show I’d attended since March of 2020. But for months, as vaccination rates continued to rise and safety protocols started to be put into place, a number of bands announced that they would be hitting the road. One of the first bands I can recall making an announcement was Rise Against, the Chicago four-piece punk act that has been taking the world by storm well since the early 2000s. I’ve seen them numerous times before, but this time, when they took the stage at San Francisco’s Masonic with the Descendents and The Menzingers, would be much different. This time, the world would be facing a pandemic, a majority of the crowd would be wearing masks, and there would be a different kind of energy in the air.

There wasn’t just excitement about the band, who are currently on the road promoting their latest album Nowhere Generation, but there was excitement about finally being together again under one roof, watching live music. I give a great deal of credit to the city of San Francisco and The Masonic venue, who required either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test prior to entering the venue. Additionally, those indoors were required to wear a mask, and it was nice to see that pretty much everyone was abiding by these rules. It really felt like we were all in this together, and everyone just wanted this to be the best show possible. The moment the lights went down and The Menzingers took the stage for their half-hour opening set, you could tell that there was a distinctive feeling throughout the venue; everyone may have had masks on, but you could tell that there were smiles all around. When Descendents took the stage shortly after, the same feeling radiated throughout the building. Both of these bands provided excellent opening performances and really set the tone for the upcoming performance from Rise Against.

With a stage setup decked out to look like the album artwork of Nowhere Generation, Rise Against took the stage and launched into “The Numbers” and fan-favorite “Re-Education (Through Labor)” from Appeal To Reason. “How many people here are attending their first show since the pandemic?” vocalist and guitarist Tim McIlrath asked the audience before being met with a roar of applause. He smiles. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Throughout their ninety minute set, Rise Against powered through tracks that spanned their entire career, pulling songs from just about every album in their arsenal, including Endgame (“Make It Stop (September’s Children)”, “Satellite”), The Black Market (“I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore”), Wolves (“The Violence”), and The Sufferer & The Witness (a whopping five tracks including “Prayer of the Refugee”, “Chamber The Cartridge”, and “Ready To Fall”). The band sounded fantastic throughout each song, never letting up for even a moment. Halfway through, McIlrath took the stage for a solo acoustic performance of the fan-favorite “Swing Life Away”, from the band’s Siren Song of the Counter Culturealbum. This was a memorable moment for me. Usually, when an acoustic performance takes place during a rock show, the crowd is littered with the sound of people talking. This time around, people were focused. It felt like neither the band nor the audience were taking these moments from granted.

An extravagant aspect of rock shows comes in the form of spontaneity. It’s not always seen in a world where shows are choreographed down to the tee (and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of structure), but when a moment that no one expects happens, it can make a show progress from “good” to “great”. Rise Against’s performance in San Francisco had one of these moments occur when a fan, holding a sign up from that said “Can I play ‘Survive’ with you?” was brought up on stage. McIlrath gave the fan the Gibson SG he had been toting all night and switched solely to vocal duties for a high-octane performance of the closing track from The Sufferer and The Witness. This moment defined the show for me, a moment that showed a band and an audience not only sounding better than I’d ever heard them, but a moment that showed just how goddamn much we needed the togetherness of a night like this. The night honestly could have ended here, but Rise Against followed it up with an encore performance of “Worth Dying For” and “Savior” before sending their fans off into night. Until next time.

Rise Against Set List
1. The Numbers
2. Re-Education (Through Labor)
3. Satellite
4. The Violence
5. Broken Dreams, Inc.
6. Audience of One
7. Ready To Fall
8. Nowhere Generation
9. I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore
10. Chamber The Cartridge
11. Give It All
12. Swing Life Away (Acoustic)
13. Make It Stop (September’s Children)
14. Prayer of the Refugee

Encore:
15. Survive (performed with a fan from the crowd)
16. Worth Dying For
17. Savior