Rise Against resurrects hardcore punk in LA

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - When Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath belted through the final words of set-closing "Give It All," he leaned into the crowd, put his hands in the air and was supported by a sea of outstretched arms.

As if the hour-long set didn't offer evidence enough, the culmination of Tuesday night's show -- the first of five consecutive sold-out nights at the Troubadour -- was symbolic of a changing of the guard in the hardcore punk scene. Rise Against erupted with a performance that harkened back to the underground heroes of the punk rock and hardcore movements. Fans responded by embracing the group's every offering, in the form of mosh pits that engulfed the club's floor, hundreds of fists pumping in the air throughout the set and sing-alongs during each of the night's 17 tracks.

In true punk fashion, the songs were short but packed top to bottom with a rapturous, guitar-driven energy that highlighted the playing of Chris Chasse. The guitarist didn't stray far from his corner of the stage, but he filled the hall with metallic piercings that were, at times, more reminiscent of Iron Maiden's metal progressions than they were of the spitfire of the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones. Chasse's delivery was complemented by the blast-beat drumming of Brandon Barnes as the pair segmented the performance into a series of powder kegs, each exploding throughout the venue.

The set was stocked with seven tracks from the band's 2004 Geffen Records debut, "Siren Song of the Counter Culture," with opener "Dancing for Rain," "State of the Union," "Life Less Frightening" and the night's closer providing incendiary high points. But it may have been the album's change-of-pace track "Swing Life Away" that proved most jarring. McIlrath took the stage with an acoustic guitar and delivered the breakthrough radio hit; the track proved a fitting calm before the band returned for the storm that was "Six Ways 'Til Sunday."

"Chamber the Cartridge," "Injection" and "Ready to Fall" were previewed from their forthcoming Geffen album "The Sufferer & the Witness," due for release July 4 while the band is headlining the Warped Tour.

With no image to sell and no songs that cater to radio, Rise Against are punk rock visionaries in an era in which punk rock has become little more than a marketing gimmick. As was proven Tuesday night, punk couldn't ask for anything more.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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