After some disappointing support acts the crowd was riled up and ready for something good. There was silence and darkness with flashes of letters on the stage. Rise Against appeared on the first thrilling strum and up came the lights.

Their stage presence was the first thing I noticed. Behind the drummer was the word ‘RISE’ lit up in changing patterns and colours which gave you a sense of their showmanship and true magnificence. Tim Macllrath (lead vocals), Zach Blair (lead guitar) and Joe Principe (bass) stood grounded to the stage whilst Brandon Barnes (drums) enjoyed his own bubble in the midst of the stage. The show was already off to a good start; they appeared fearless.

Tim had a downfall during the first half of the show where one of the songs was noticeably out of tune. It was disappointing seeing as he has a very powerful voice in the studio version. However, throughout the rest of the night he sang beautifully so it was probably a fault with his earpiece levels that caused this bump. That little trip did set my hopes low for the rest of the night but Tim managed to pull them back up with the next few songs.

The show in Southampton was part of their Black Market tour for their new album called ‘The Black Market’. They played their new single called ‘I Don’t Want to be Here Anymore’. The crowd were delighted with the new single; cheering and clapping.

I, on the other hand, didn’t find it their best work. For a man with such a powerful and strong voice, he was mainly just shouting over the conflictingly catchy tune resonating between the guitars. Performed live, I found the instrumental half of the song a dream to listen to, but the singing was not quite up to scratch which ruined it for me.

Rise Against lead a finale with their best and most well known songs including the classic ‘Prayer of the Refugee’. Rise Against stood their ground as a punk rock band during the night and it was thoroughly enjoyable despite the few hiccups. Unlike some other bands I have seen in the past the gig roused my ears for another taste.

Kellie Wyatt

November 16, 2021

I'm a 2nd year Journalism student and specialise in gaming and manga. Though I can't deny that a little live music on the side feeds the fangirl inside of me.

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