Rise Against/Rancid: Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre

Those who attended last nights (July 10, 2009) show at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Chula Vista, CA, understand the immensity of what happened on stage last night.  Two of punk rock's greatest and most respected bands, Rancid and Rise Against, rocked along with Canadian opening band Billy Talent.

Rancid, staying true to the fans, played their greatest hits.  Veteran fans couldn't have been more pleased with the set list and song choices which dated back to early albums Rancid, Let's Go, ...And Out Come the Wolves.  Gems such as "Ruby Soho", "Radio" and "Time Bomb" really got the mosh pit going, accompanied by full-fledged fists, pumping in the air in admiration. 

Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen haven't aged a bit. Remaining true to their street punk rock sound, Rancid were still as punk rock as ever with their "f--- it" attitude. 

 As headliners Rise Against made their way to the stage, fans of all ages ranging from teens to mid-twenty somethings found themselves rushing the stage to hear the new age melodic punk, rockers play a twenty song set.  The ever-so political members of Rise Against rocked to no avail.  Lead vocalist, Tim McIIrath, cradled fans through songs mainly from their three newest major-label released albums, Siren Songs of the Counter Culture, The Sufferer and the Witness, and Appeal to Reason, with that infectious, sexy, raspiness in his voice that has made Rise Against's sound so different from other punk/rock bands of their kind. 

It was easy to distinguish which fans in the herds of people were there for Rise Against.  Since the 2004 release, Siren Songs, they have gathered a much younger fan base who are intrigued with the politics that they are so adamant about addressing.  Fans chanted along with "Paper Wings", "State of the Union", "Blood to Bleed", "Dancing for Rain" and "Give it All" from the album, and they were not any less familiar with songs "The Good Left Undone", "Chamber the Cartridge", "Drones", "Survive", "Prayer of the Refugee" and "Ready to Fall" off of The Sufferer and the Witness. 

Favorites from Appeal to Reason, "Collapse (Post-Amerika)", "Re-Education (Through Labor)", "Long Forgotten Sons", "The Dirt Whispered", "Audience of One" and "Savior" were not forgotten.  Toward the end of the set, McIIrath came out solo for acoustic renditions of "Everchanging", "The Unraveling" and "Hero of War".  Though, do not be alarmed, this did not slow the show down or pacify the crowd.  The encore songs picked the tempo back up and kept the crowd dancing along for another three songs.

Although Rise Against had only released two albums prior to being signed to Dreamworks back in 2004, it was disappointing for die hard fans who appreciate tracks off of the albums The Unraveling and Revolutions Per Minute, that they didn't pull more songs from their archive from that far back.  Regardless of this minor detail, not one fan should have went home disgruntled, unsatisfied or uncertain that this was without a doubt one of the best concerts of the year.

(All photos were taken by Kevin Farr.)

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