REVIEW: RISE AGAINST AT SCOTIABANK ARENA IN TORONTO
Photo by Jason Siegel
Canadian elder emos had gathered from all over South Western Ontario for a fantastic co-headlining concert at the Scotiabank Arena consisting of Canada's most adored rock band of the past 20 years, Billy Talent and one of America's most consistent underdog hard rock/punk bands, Rise Against. A good chunk of fans arrived proudly wearing merch of past tours from both bands. These two bands have a great friendship, having gone on tour in the past in the hayday of emo music.
In an effort to help others in this crazy world we live in now, this tour asked every ticket holder to consider bringing a non-perishable food item to donate at the venue where volunteers would collect for the local bank of each city. Every ticket also donated $1 to the same food banks of each city.
With the world remembering how to put on concerts again and no one knowing where the general admission lineup was, I missed 95% of NOBRO who got to open up for both bands. Not to worry! Sound Bites Media has covered them opening for Pkew Pkew Pkew back in January of 2020 which you can check out here. In summary though, they are a proudly all female rock ‘n’ roll band hailing from Montreal, Quebec who have been endorsed by bands like PUP, Fidlar, and METZ. They are a noisy bunch for sure. You can not deny that they are fearless and make some catchy tunes. The sprinkle of bongos they use adds a flavour you'll hardly find anywhere else!
From the couple minutes I did end up seeing of NOBRO, lead singer and guitarist Karolane Carbonneau lived up to the name of their newest EP Live Your Truth And Shred Some Gnar by thrashing around and making the stadium stage her playground, laying on the floor speakers while shredding. Just like that, they headed off the stage. With more time for growth and exposure, NOBRO will certainly make it out of the opener position. They have a great foundation and tons of support so I think they'll continue to find success.
Up next was Chicago's own, Rise Against. The stage set up had LCD screens displaying a dozen 90’s TV faces stacked on top of each other, like the look of their newest album Nowhere Generation. Suddenly the TVs turned on with static, then to flashes of war, famine, and the migrant crisis.
The band famously writes about social issues in most of their songs. The intro of their song "The Numbers", which is a recording of "L'Internationale", a song that has been associated with socialist revolutions since the 1800s, began to play over the news segments. The four band members jolted on stage and started the night off with one of their most well known songs in their entire catalog, "Prayer Of The Refugee". It was surprising, as in past setlists they usually ended their shows with this song. The floor bursted in anticipated energy and opened the mosh pit instantly. In their 12 song setlist, they played all their fan favourites such as "Satellite", "Ready to Fall", "Re-Education (Through Labor)", and "The Good Left Undone", which brought on the fullest of energy in the mosh pit. They only included a couple of their newer songs like "Nowhere Generation" and "Talking To Ourselves", which didn't seem to have everyone shouting along. Perhaps us elder emos are stuck in our ways and just wanted the hits, but give it a couple more years and the new songs will be musts at all their gigs. Lead singer Tim McIlrath took a moment to bring attention to the injustices currently facing our world, like the conflict in Ukraine, intense and continuing divisiveness of people, and the pandemic we all just went through and are still going through. He explained how awestruck he is about coming back to the reality of live music and how now it makes the whole thing even more magical than ever. He followed up his monologue with a solo performance of the acoustic hit "Swing Life Away". After the lovely, quiet moment to recollect after at least ten bangers after bangers, it was time to close out with "Savior". The biggest mosh pit of their set had been made and Rise Against definitely owned the venue.
It’s hard to believe after a high energy, full of sweat Rise Against concert, we would all see Billy Talent afterwards! A banner with Billy Talent’s new album cover Crisis of Faith droped down. In similar fashion to Rise Against, Billy Talent jolted on stage and burst into their typically end-of-the-show bangers “Devil In A Midnight Mass” followed by “This Suffering”, which ignited the moshing once again. No one was tired even after RA. During a bathed in red light “Devil In A Midnight Mass” performance, I couldn’t help but notice that on their LCD screens behind the band, they had cathedral-like stained glass imagery, but on top of it, it had text that said “Adobe Stock” multiple times. A forgiven blunder, I doubt anyone but maybe photographers noticed.
About one third of the setlist was from their newest album. The highlights were definitely “Forgiveness I + II”, “Reckless Parade”, and “Judged”. In the second half of “Forgiveness I + II”, they brought on a brass group to play the calming, experimental section of their song. “Reckless Parade” was a heck of a banger with its typically Billy Talent buzzing opening riffs and cymbals at every corner. Lastly with “Judged”... I mean when you start a song with, “GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKER” it’s bound to be a tune for the mosh pit. I feel these three will soon be staples at all of their shows.
Like Tim McIlrath, Billy Talent’s lead singer Ben Kowalewicz took a moment to chat about how awestruck he is about the return of live music. He said that deep in this pandemic when he was feeling the lowest of the low, he imagined he may never do Billy Talent again due to the state of the world. He felt like what the heck would he do since this is what he’s been doing for 30 years. So, for him and the band to do this tour felt even more amazing than maybe it would normally. He also stated that he became a father during the time away, which brought on cheers from the crowd.
An encore arrived so short I didn’t realize there was a break, the band broke out into hits from their MuchMusic days, “Try Honesty”, “Viking Death March”, and “Red Flag”. The fans were living; making walls of death, people in the stands all standing. Truly a triumphant feeling after all the crazy in the world.
This tour with these two bands was a perfect pairing. The crossover of fans is totally there and it was a perfect welcome back to concerts for many. Both bands continue to keep their niche sound that brought them success over the past 20 years, and it really keeps the same fans coming and staying. They continue to provide bangers for setlists, while also growing and making some experimental tracks. They are the nicest, most generous dudes in the game!