Concert Review: Rise Against

So I saw Rise Against at the San Jose State Events Center on Friday night. Here's how it went down:

1st Band: The Gaslight Anthem - Didn't see them, got to the events center too late after having awesome pizza at Pizza My Heart (San Jose location). However I have the latest album, and they are great ("The best new band you'll hear in 2008" by Kerrang! Magazine).

2nd Band: Thrice - They used to be insanely awesome. Then I heard they started smoking pot, and then they got to be "experimental rock" instead of some sort of hardcore. That is the problem. I still got me a sweatshirt though. They only played 2 songs off of the great album. The rest was just eh.

3rd Band: Alkaline Trio - I've seen them before, but this time they were better showmen. However, they didn't play the latest single which is kind of a dumb move considering people are going to the concert after hearing it on the radio. At least they played "This Could Be Love."

4th Band: Rise Against - Liked the music, loved the show. They were certainly entertaining, with several backdrops, a light show and a charismatic lead singer. I can't think of any song that I wanted to hear, that they didn't play, including the acoustic ones. This band saved the show from being a waste of a drive for me. I like how even though they have become quite successful, they are still "hardcore punk" with their music. Lots of bands move towards other genres with maturity, which I expect they will do, but I'm happy it hasn't happened yet. They still have what it takes (although I haven't listened to the album which just came out, the songs they played from it were still awesome).

Overall a success. I was glad that they served beer, that way, more older people were there than I expected. Jessica and I played "spot the weird people" in between bands and had a good time.

Current Mood : Fat
Current Music : Rise Against, Diaspora (Prayer of the Refugee)