Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF
The first show of the final week of Rise Against‘s Nowhere Generation tour was also the first show at the Masonic Auditorium in 543 days (since February 27, 2020)! Many precautions were taken, both by the band and by the venue, to ensure that this day would happen. Proof of vaccination or vaccine cards were required and checked upon entry, band crew and local stagehands were masked, an audience mask policy was also in effect (although at least half were unmasked, even as they entered the building), the bar and merchandise appeared to be mostly cashless with contactless point-of-sale card readers, and even the ticketing happened through a mobile phone app (although we scored a real one!).
Speaking of merchandise, it was a wonderful revelation to see it being sold in the lobby in full view of everyone, as opposed to the 6ft x 6ft window / box / hole-in-the-wall office that they used to sell out of. The part of the wall where that window used to be is completely patched up! At least something good happened here in those 543 days, because it’s hard to say what other renovations or changes were made in the venue, since it looked the exact same as when we last saw it in early 2020.
After The Menzingers opened the show, Descendents proved to be the perfect support band. At first, it seems like an odd pairing of old punk and new punk, but Descendents drummer Bill Stevenson has been involved with Rise Against’s songwriting process and serves as producer of all of their albums (except the 2017 release) since 2006! That’s a lot of history, and Tim McIlrath, singer and guitarist of Rise Against, even said late in their set that “if it wasn’t for bands like Descendents to pave the way, bands like Rise Against would not exist.”
He then thanked Descendent fans for coming out to the show, unknown just how many of them actually stayed that far into their set. Judging by of our friend’s text messages though, some old punk rockers are just not interested in new punk rock! Descendents powered through 24-songs in their 45-minute set without ever missing a beat.
Rise Against performed 3 new songs from their latest album Nowhere Generation, and the rest of the set was filled with many of the classic songs that their fans have grown to enjoy. Tim was extremely happy to be on tour during these times, making multiple comments about how the last 18 months has sucked for most of us, and how they have missed playing in front of a live audience.
The fans too were ecstatic to be out at a concert again and returned an energy that has not been seen in this building since February 2020. In fact, one fan named Alex was so lucky that he was invited up on stage by Tim to play his guitar for the entirety of the song Survive. Alex did such a good job, he had Tim wondering out loud if they should take him on tour.
That was actually the most surprising thing to happen tonight, COVID restrictions be damned! (Alex was wearing a mask and presumably was vaccinated or tested negative to even get into the venue in the first place)
Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images.
Descendants Setlist:
Rise Against Setlist:
1. The Numbers
2. Re-Education (Through Labor)
3. Satellite
4. The Violence
5. Broken Dreams, Inc.
6. Audience of One
7. Ready to Fall
8. Nowhere Generation
9. I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore
10. Chamber the Cartridge
11. Give It All
12. Forfeit (Acoustic)
13. Swing Life Away (Acoustic)
13. Make It Stop
14. Prayer of the Refugee
15. Survive
16. Worth Dying For
17. Savior
See more photos of all of your favorite Punk Rock + Metal musicians at Alan Ralph‘s photo portfolio.
