LIVE! | Rise Against with A Day To Remember & Title Fight
by Sara McCarthy
Staff Writer —
May 7, 2012 at New York State Fairgrounds Chevy Court in New York, NY
On a very wet and dreary Tuesday night, Rise Against brought their tour to Syracuse, NY. Despite the horrendous weather, a crowd of about 4,000 descended on the New York State Fairgrounds, it takes more than a day of torrential rain to stop Syracuse rockers from attending the first outdoor show of the year.
Title Fight, hailing from Kingston, PA started playing at 6:00, which was the same time the gates were opened. This scheduling snafu prevented a lot of audience members from seeing the band perform. Formed in 2003, the band lists Blink 182 as a major influence and that is apparent in their music. A grinding mix of punk and hardcore, Title Fight gave an energetic performance and truly seemed to enjoy themselves on stage. Their last album Shed was released in May 2011 under Side One Dummy Records and recently announced their plans to enter the studio this summer and release their new record in September 2012.
A Day To Remember was next on the bill for the night. An already rowdy crowd went ballistic when band members took the stage. The band opened with “The Downfall of Us All,” and crew members threw dozens of large beach balls out to the crowd. For about five minutes it wasn’t safe to be a bystander, you never knew when you might get beaned with a wayward ball! Ripping through each song, this band held nothing back and neither did the kids in the audience. Fist pumping and singing right along; there was a constant stream of crowd surfers coming off the front of the crowd. At one point, just before playing “Homesick”, Vocalist Jeremy McKinnon crawled inside a huge transparent blow-up hamster ball, rolled off of the stage and ran/rolled all over the top of the crowd. Each successive song brought more energy and a larger response from the crowd, and a few different times it appeared as if the barriers in front of the stage were not going to hold. Finishing up their dynamic set with “The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle,” this group of guys from Ocala, FL left the crowd wanting more and primed for Rise Against.
Set List:
The Downfall of Us All
A Shot in the Dark
I’m Made of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Of?
My Life For Hire
All Signs Point To Lauderdale
2nd Sucks
You Be Tails, I’ll Be Sonic
It’s Complicated
Homesick
Better Off This Way
Have Faith In Me
All I Want
The Plot to Bomb The Panhandle
The set for Rise Against featured five vertical rectangular video screens, evenly spaced across the stage. These screens lit up, showing movie scenes and dialogue taken from “The Shameless Opportunist” in Catch-22. As the intro concluded, band members took the stage, and opened their set with “Survivor Guilt.” The momentum started by A Day To Remember was continued by Rise Against, band members were all over the stage, playing it up for each section of the crowd. When they broke into “Help Is On The Way,” the video screens played clips of demonstrations and the clashes that can break out at these events. The main part of the set was finished up with “Prayer Of The Refugee” which drove the crowd insane; they started surging forward and once again called into question the stability of the barriers. Things cooled down a bit when vocalist Tim McIlrath brought out an acoustic guitar and played both “Audience Of One” and ‘Swing Life Away.” At this point in the evening, the rain started once again, drenching everyone in the area. The crowd stayed strong and when the opening strains of “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” started, the started jumping and screaming. This song deals with the problem of homophobia in today’s society and how it is affecting our children, with an increase in suicide rates. This is a band not afraid of serious and unsavory topics.
Rise Against put on an amazing show that left the audience satisfied that they got their fill of rock on a wet Tuesday night. As the thousands of people filed out of the exit gates, members of PETA stood handing out fliers, as Rise Against are active supporters of the controversial animal rights organization.
Set List:
Survivor Guilt
Ready To Fall
Collapse (Post-Amerika)
The Good Left Undone
Broken English
Help Is On The Way
Disparity By Design
Drones
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Blood To Bleed
Satellite
Paper Wings
Prayer Of The Refugee
Acoustic:
Audience Of One
Swing Life Away
Make It Stop (September’s Children)
Give It All
Encore:
Midnight Hands
The Strength To Go On
Savior
Rise Against & A Day To Remember 2012 Photo Gallery
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