At this point, Rise Against’s supremacy has been pretty well established. Other than Bruce Springsteen, I have never seen better live performers. What made this performance special is I got to experience everything. I started out near the door, casually recalling the story of the “Long Forgotten Sons.” (‘Casually’ might not be the right word though. ‘Casual’ for Rise Against is a mild heart attack.) A few songs in, I let myself get thrown to the middle of the pack. There, as “Kotov Syndrome” directed, things spun out of control. I flung people; people flung me. It’s hard to describe how intense it was: Human Bumper Cars? Punk Ballet?
At the start of the encore, chill songs started, so I moved to the edge of the stage. I didn’t want to get tripped up by meatheads who misunderstood the mood. By the last note of “Swung Life Away,” however, I saw that there was no reason for concern. As soon as they struck the last note, this huge shirtless goon, who had been silent for the entire acoustic set, let out a floor-shaking, Cutter-worthy moan. He – and everyone else in the audience -- knew when to be loud, when to be quiet, and how to pay tribute to the band they loved.
Grade: A+
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