Rise Against at The Stone Pony Summer Stage — 8/14/22
Rise Against always puts on a tremendous show at the Stone Pony Summer Stage, and last night was no exception.
I’ve seen them half a dozen times in this venue, and they never disappoint. There’s an awful lot of overlap in their set list from year to year, but I don’t care. They have so many great songs in their repertoire, and every single one packs a punch with the crowd, which is always loaded with mothers, crowd-surfers, and a slew of fans who can recite every word to every song.
Rise Against has a ton of energy, and cranks it out consistently for the whole show. Last night they played for over an hour and a half, and hit most of their fan-favorites hard. They opened with Prayer of the Refugee, and played a bunch of their well-known stuff like Satellite, The Violence, Ready to Fall, Make It Stop (September’s Children), and Give It All. Front man Tim McIlrath played a couple of solo acoustic numbers, Hero of War and Swing Life Away, which both pull at the heartstrings. Their last encore was Savior, maybe one of their best songs.
It was a gorgeous night at the Jersey Shore,, and McIlrath was his usual gracious self, appreciative of the weather and the great venue, and thankful for the opportunity to “do our victory laps” at the Stone Pony. He was super appreciative of the great crowd and the support they give the band.
BUT, maybe they get a little TOO comfortable on the stage. McIlrath made a number of short speeches about changing the world, we’re all in this together, we all need hope and need to take care of each other, and all that kind of crap. He made us shine our phone flashlights to make us feel the love for one another. Yeah, yeah. Just play the goddamn songs.
And then I get off my high horse, and remember that they’re from Chicago, like that other hopey-change guy who used to be President.
Their hearts are in the right place, but I don’t care that much. I’m just in it for the music. Just kidding. Not really.
But another awesome show, no matter how you cut it.
Here’s a playlist of my personal faves from Rise Against:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7l3vEgzWlt8pAdhpKSyvFC?si=HIQlhxWyRzOFk0fvfZ8rqA
There were two warm-up acts before Rise Against. The Used, a head-banger band from Utah (go figure!), had a HUGE following at the Stone Pony. They didn’t do much for me, but their loyal fan base whomped it up with every song, knew all the words, and booed and screamed obscenities at the band, as front man Bert McCracken had urged them to do.
I missed Senses Fail. 6pm was just too early to be there. Sorry guys!