Venue(UIC pavilion: (5/6) Calling a spade a spade, this was an arena show. However, it was a small arena, maybe 9000 people tops. Even from the top tier, I’d imagine there was still a good view. The sound system was, well, arena quality, but that was expected. It was a nice arena, relatively clean and with clear signage the merch booth was accessible. The venue only lost points for the sound system. It was a wonderful place and is in a better location than the other two arenas in the area. (Those being being the Allstate in Rosemont and the United Center downtown).
A note on the staff: During the encore someone got injured (I couldn’t see exactly what happened) and the staff was amazing. Quick to the task, efficient without being cursory. Hats off to good staff. More on how the crowd handled it in the next section. Short version, I was impressed.
The Crowd: (6/6) I’ve been to hundreds of concerts in my day, but I’ve never see such a fervent, lively crowd. I’ve also never seen such a considerate crowd (especially not when there are no fewer than three, and some times up to six, mosh pits going). Any time someone fell from crowd surfing or moshing I could see a distinct dip in the crowd as multiple people picked that person up.
They were also phenomenally supportive when someone did get hurt. They parted like the red sea for the staff and paramedics. They pointed out where the injured person was and made sure to communicate to their fellow fans to get out of the way. They also cheered the staff on.
I have to say I’ve never before seen that kind of mindfulness in a wild crowd and I am proud.
The show itself:
A Day to Remember: (4/6). I was pleasantly surprised with this band. Given how easy it is to make bad screemo I had very low expectations for them.Their energy was intense, especially for an opener. While they weren’t perfect they did a fantastic job and really brought the crowd to life. The band relied a little too heavily on the screaming and grunting for my personal taste and I felt like the melodic sections were a little rough. They put forth a sincere energy and understood how to work the crowd and had solid guitar. Their drum work was really nice, too I confess I’m a sucker for intense drums.
They were also theatrical. At one point there was a person in a Gumby costume on stage firing a t-shirt canon, at another point the front man was in a giant inflatable ball crowd surfing. It was amazing to see. The front man was also very into the crowd. He gave them fist bumps, crow surfed, spoke with them. He even got the crowd to crowd surf using other members of the crowd as surf boards. It was pretty amazing. He was playful and energetic.
Rise Against. (5/6): Both heartfelt and hardcore, Rise Against produces intense lyrics and relentless instrumentation all with fervent energy and commanding stage presence. The conviction with wich the front man spoke and performed was unparalleled. The band was also incredible with the crowd, constantly weaving in and out of its edges, signaling the crowd and interacting directing with them.
In true punk sprit, their music inspires action, but unlike older punk Rise Against is not obnoxious, nor are they one trick ponies. Runnning the gamut front romantic ballads to thrashing punk songs, their performance was seamless. There was honesty in the music and conviction.
Another element that gave me a new respect for Rise Against was their concern for their fans. At one point, as mentioned, there was a bad injury in the crowd. It was the front man,not the staff, who pointed out something was wrong and asked for the houselights and paramedics. The overall sense of community was fantastic.
I will go back to their shows in a heartbeat.
