DON’T MISS OUR INTERVIEW WITH RISE AGAINST IN OUTBURN #94
RISE AGAINST with DESCENDENTS and THE MENZINGERS
8.18.2021
Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Paso Robles, CA
REVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAYMOND AHNER
Having released their ninth studio album, Nowhere Generation, Chicago’s Rise Against has been out on the road over the summer supporting it, bringing along punk rock icons Descendents, as well as The Menzingers. The tour stopped off at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre recently, playing to a near sold out crowd on a cool California evening.
Opening the 90 minute set with “The Numbers,” Rise Against was full of energy right out of the gate. With stacks of televisions in front of and on either side of the stage providing visuals tied in with each song, the band tore their way through “Re-Education,” “Satellite,” and “The Violence,” before vocalist Tim Mcllrath finally addressed the crowd with, “We are doing things that are magical, that we thought we may never do again.”
“California, It’s been a long time. We tell our story through songs, and this is one of them,” said Mcllrath before the band launched into “Broken Dreams, Inc.” From there, Rise Against played a good mix of older material and songs from their new record, including “Nowhere Generation” and “Forfeit,” which Mcllrath did acoustically.
Wrapping up their set with “Prayer of the Refugee,” it was clear that Rise Against is the voice of today’s punk generation.
Direct support for Rise Against on the tour comes from the legendary Descendents. Letting their music do most of the talking, vocalist Milo Aukeman led the band through a 25 song set of punk rock classics, including “Clean Sheets,” “I’m the One,” “Everything Sux,” and “Suburban Home.” The band was the perfect choice to get the crowd primed for the headliners.
Opening the shows on this tour are The Menzingers, from Scranton, PA. The band has gained quite a following over the past few years and brought the crowd into the amphitheatre early. Highlights from their brief half an hour set included “House on Fire” and “I Don’t Want to Be an Asshole Anymore.”
