Rise Against
April 26, 2017
Troubadour- Los Angeles, CA
It’s been over 10 years since Rise Against have last played the famous Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA. The 500 capacity venue is a Los Angeles staple that up-and-coming bands play at and often the venue of choice for an intimate show. For Rise Against, they decided to treat fans to pre-tour shows in three cities- Chicago, Brooklyn and ending in Los Angeles. Surely, tickets were instantly sold out and fans waited outside the venue begging people if they had spares.
Rise Against had the Troubadour packed to the brim, and without a barricade, this was going to be a show to remember. The night was kicked off with Give It All, and instantly the mosh pits erupted and fans pushed forward, trying to touch lead singer Tim McIlrath. McIllrath would constantly go to the edge of the stage and kneel into the crowd, giving them a chance to sing.
The night included hits from seven Rise Against albums, and included a cover of Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The night also featured three songs off their upcoming album Wolves which is going to be released on June 9, 2017. The reaction to the new songs were nearly equal as the reaction to the more well known hits, with most fans even singing along to the new songs.
A stand-out moment in the show was during one of their most popular songs Prayer of the Refugee. A fan crowd-surfed his way onto the stage and put his arm around McIlrath and the two of them sang together. Security was not appreciating this and did their job of removing the fan from the stage. But instead of sending him back into the crowd, security opened the back door to the venue and kicked him out. McIlrath noticed, and while continuing to strum his guitar, he walked off the stage, opened the back door, grabbed the fan and brought him back inside, while telling security not to kick him out.
The night slowed down with Hero of War which was done acoustically and the tempo was kicked up a notch with Blood-Red, White & Blue as their first encore, and concluded with Savior.
Rise Against really impressed with this small show and got everyone excited for their upcoming release and summer tour, kicking off in June.
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
Show Recap Video
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