Rise Against: A Night in Photos

So I’m at the Rise Against show and I’m taking photographs in the photo pit (you know – that space just beyond the barriers), and just minding my own business along with the other photographers. I’m snapping off some photos, and turn around. The crowd… is insane. Surfers are coming over the barriers like mad. Girls are asking to be removed from their spot at the front and the next thing I know, the barrier is about to collapse and the whole security team is holding it back. I may be new to being up in the photo pit – but I thought I was dead for sure. Oh yeah, did I mention that Rise Against came to town?

It was only their second stop on their Canadian tour, performing to a sold out crowd of five thousand plus, in Montreal’s worst venue possible (CEPSUM doesn’t have great acoustics, but I won’t blame Rise Against for the shitty sound that night). Tim McIlrath and company know how to put on a show, starting off with “Re-Education (Through Labor)” and “Satellite” off of their new album, they had everyone going.

Seriously. I went up in the stands later in the night, and there were five pits going at once. It was like the whole crowd was liquid, just shifting around from place to place as one. Mind you, people calmed down for a bit when “Swing Life Away” and “Hero of War” were performed acoustically.

During a break, Tim said something that has stuck with me. He asked the crowd who was at their last show they played in Montreal, and the one before that, and the one before that… and to the loud cheers he said, “A lot of things can happen in a couple of years, but if you were at our last show, and the one before that – and you’re here now… That means you’ve survived it all.” Sure, it may be corny – but he’s got a point.

Despite the venue giving off horrible sound, the band sounded good when the venue cooperated. And their energy on stage? Zach Blair is jumping around for half of the set, Joe Principe is hammering his bass, Tim is screaming his lungs out, and Brandon Barnes is having a good time on his drums. I love Rise Against shows for their energy, and this one was no different.
>

Rise Against - Tim McIlrath

Setlist: Rise Against in Montreal
Full set of photos 

Tags: jake mullan, photographs, Rise Against: A Night in Photos