RISE AGAINST // Giving it Their All

RISE AGAINST w/ Clowns & Outright – Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne 2 December 2015

There’s a hell of a lot of middle aged women entering Margaret Court Arena, prompting fantasies about a wall of death with handbags and framed pictures of children flying all over the place.

It turns out Oprah’s in town for an intimate tour at Rod Laver, so there goes that amazing potential. The snazzy new upgrade of Margaret Court – at first glance – makes the venue seem miniscule. Walking in, it feels like we’ve got front row standing room in an intimate business lecture hall rather than a concert venue.

Rise Against // Photo: Ben Gunzburg

As soon as Outright hit the stage though, it’s pretty clear we’re not going to be informed on synergistic management systems. Melbourne has a strong hardcore scene, but none have a ferocious female singer at the helm. Jelena Goluza absolutely rips through her screams, only to finish with a starkly contrasting ‘thank you’ in her normal high pitched voice. Activism from a female perspective is sorely missing in the music industry as a whole, and with a shirt reading “Demanding A World Without Rape and Violence” and songs about domestic violence (A City Silent), it hits significantly harder when Jelena herself could be a statistic. With a strong message and the musical talent to bring it to the masses, Outright are what Australian hardcore needs.

Clowns, on the other hand, are all about having a damn good time. Playing their largest show to date, the band perform on stage like it’s their last ever gig. It’s hard to look away from the stage because who knows what’ll happen next? Will lead singer Stevie sit on stage waving, leap from atop amps to roll on the stage or jump into the crowd? Throughout the set, all three of these happen and they’re each done with one hell of an enthusiastic attitude. But why shouldn’t he? Venue warnings aside, this is what rock and roll is supposed to be. Yeah you can scream from the stage and get all-emotional on the microphone, but that’s just a show; that’s not entertainment. Seeming like they’re your best mates who’ve just landed the gig of their lives, it’s no struggle getting swept up in Clowns fever.

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This is punk rock after all.

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By the time Rise Against take to the stage, the venue has somehow magically enlarged with the addition of a few thousand people. Opening with The Great Die Off, it’s pretty clear that the crowd are going to need more than new material to get their feet off the ground. The Good Left Undone follows, and that’s when everyone realises they’re legitimately at a Rise Against show. Tim Mcllrath’s vocals are unsurprisingly pitch perfect, even if he does sound breathless at points. Lead guitarist Zach Blair picks up the slack with each song’s different vocal parts, so there’s not much to miss.

Plus when the band occasionally hit out of time or lacks a moment of force, it shows that they’re more than willing to seem human. This is punk rock after all. Dickheads already have their shirts off and are intentionally running into each other and everyone else like they’re members of Homer Simpson’s extended family with pots on their heads, so that ruins the mood for a few songs. A huge pit that takes up half the room sorts out these pretenders during Give It All, and it’s an effort to stay standing with so many bodies flying around. Jumping from all ends of their discography, the Appeal To Reason and Sufferer and the Witness material receive the warmest reception, with back to back Survive and Prayer of the Refugee tiring out a number of dedicated fans. Since we’re apparently renowned for our circle pits according to Mcllrath, the floor opens up again and again, pushes people to the walls with its size. Rewarding this feat with Blood-Red White & Blue’s stop-start frenzied rhythms and an extended sing-along gem Ready To Fall, the band leave the stage.

Returning for his usual solo acoustic segment, Mcllrath decides to change the set up and play Redgum’s Australian classic I Was Only 19. Predictably, bros stand with arms over shoulders and one enterprising lad jumps on his mate’s shoulders to show off his southern cross rib tattoo and exaggeratedly sing lyrics to the back of the crowd. Yeah mate, we get it, you love Straya but Tim’s on stage telling us how this is one hell of a depressing song, not a celebration of “how farkin good is this country?” Following with Swing Life Away, this is the moment that truly makes a Rise Against concert. Shaking up the tempo means the crowd are way off, but no one minds. The band arrive back on stage, another circle pit erupts for Dancing For Rain but there’s a distinct lack of people who know the lyrics to make it a moment.

That comes when Savior finishes off the set and people lose their ever-loving minds. People scream the lyrics whilst getting barged over in mid air jumps, there’s a circle pit happening around them and it’s chaos. Two dudes physically fight for more than a few vicious seconds over a signed drumhead thrown into the crowd, and Rise Against leave their last headline show in Australia for another 1276 years.

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Rise Against // Photos: Ben Gunzburg

BONUS RISE AGAINST PHOTO GALLERY by BEN GUNZBURG

Rise Against Setlist:
The Great Die-Off
The Good Left Undone
Satellite
Give It All
Collapse (Post Amerika)
Drones
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Make It Stop (September’s Children)
Survive
Prayer of the Refugee
Help Is on the Way
Blood-Red, White & Blue
Ready to Fall
I Was Only 19 (Redgum Cover)
Swing Life Away
Dancing for Rain
Saviour