Rise Against Concert

Big venue concerts have proven that no matter how exciting the art- ists playing are, the venue itself can be quite unstimulating, especially when general admission tickets are so unaffordable that you're stuck in a chair far away from all the action. You might as well be watching the band perform live on Youtube. This is how I felt going to the Rise Against concert on Fri- day January 27th at the UIC Pavilion.

Fortunately, this all changed when my friend and I noticed one of the guards had let about twenty people go onto the floor without the proper wristband. So we took a shot at joining the revelry and within seconds we were in the middle of a mosh pit, enjoying the music and our fellow fans.

The first band to play, The Menzingers, had so much charisma that they had the whole place moving and a series of mosh pits formed almost im- mediately. The second band, called "A Day to Remember" was even better. They had tons of energy and although they weren't well known to the Chi- cago music scene, the crowd really responded. The best part of the second act was when the lead vocalist of "A Day to Remember," Jeremy McKinnon, walked on the top of the crown inside a huge plastic bubble.

By the time "A Day to Remember" finished, my friend and I had made it to the front row. The crown started chanting "Rise Against, Rise Against" as the energy levels rose and anticipation grew, and finally Rise Against came out. The audience erupted into a reveling frenzy, jumping and fist pump- ing to songs like "Paper Wings," "Collapse (post America)," my personal favorite, "Blood to Bleed," and "Endgame," among other equally amazing songs. The most enthralling part of the concert however were the acoustic versions of "Audience of One" and "Swing Life Away"; people calmed down and the whole venue seemed to be chanting the lyrics along with the artists as they crooned.

Suddenly, in the middle of "The Strength to Go On," the band just stopped playing. Main singer Tim McIlrath said he wanted to make sure everyone was okay before continuing; someone had fallen during one of the mosh pits and needed help. The band showed great support and concern for their fans by not resuming the concert until they knew the person had been properly helped. Front man, Tim McIlrath, confessed that this was the big- gest show the band had ever played in their native Chicago. He welcomed all of those who were at a Rise Against concert for the first time as friends, and the rest of his loyal fan base as family.