Rise Against Montreal Show Review

I’m going to be honest. As surprising as it sounds, I know next to nothing regarding Rise Against and Thursday. Therefore, I didn’t know what exactly to expect from this show. I was, on the other hand, very familiar with the venue (CEPSUM) and was not looking forward to the wretched overall sound that it unfortunately showcases. The sound system tends to water down the music, no matter which band is playing or how good they usually are live.

Upon entering said wretched venue, I realized that the place was already flooded with fans, ready and eager for the headlining band. The first opening act was Sage Francis, a rapper from Rhode Island. Along with my lack of familiarity with Rise Against, I also lacked in that department in terms of hip hop and rap. However, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what sounds good or not. And in my personal opinion, Sage Francis was below par. I was not the only one who shared this point of view, seeing as the crowd was less than enthused on his performance. Furthermore, music and lyrics that were written for the purpose of voicing out the artist’s political and religious views is not usually my cup of tea. Not that I don’t enjoy it, because I do; however, I, as the recipient to this voice or opinion, expect it to be well packaged and well delivered. On that note, I personally don’t think Sage Francis did that.

The second act to appear on stage was Thursday. In complete honesty, I only know two or three songs from them, and vaguely at that. However, they played a solid set and had great chemistry with the audience. Despite the horrible sound that reverberated through the venue, I could tell that Thursday was definitely a band to check out after the show. I’m just incredibly sorry that CEPSUM’s sound system did not do them justice.

Finally, Rise Against was in line. Before even proceeding, from where I was standing, I could see how excited and pumped they were to take stage. And disappoint, they did not. No matter how bad CEPSUM was as a venue, nothing kept the audience from chanting and waving their hands in unison with the music. Having seen them once or twice beforehand, I vaguely remember them having good energy on stage, which then reflected on the crowd. They not only played a longer-than-usual set, but their choice of songs was well balanced. This not only shows that they reciprocate their fans’ dedication with their own, but they also show the different facets to Rise Against; facets that are definitely intriguing enough for those who lack familiarity with their band to respect and appreciate them nonetheless –as I did.