Rise Against rocked Orlando’s House of Blues on November 1st, 2024 for their thirteenth show of their North American tour with guests L.S. Dunes and Spiritual Cramp. Rise Against brought top-notch tracks to the 2,500 energetic and jam-packed fans at the House of Blues, located at Disney Springs. While the tour was announced back in May, the show sold out quickly in June. As anticipated, the lively crowd passionately belted out hits like “Prayer of the Refugee” and “Give it All”, quite literally giving it their all!
The opening band, Spiritual Cramp, wasted no time revving up the audience and heightening the energy. Lead singer Micheal Bingham, from San Francisco, showed his main character energy with an iconic dance move of kicking his leg up and defiantly throwing a punch in the air. They played their hit song “Talkin’ on the Internet," and the song's electrifying sound reminded me of old school punk legends The Ramones and The Clash. They embodied the spirit of punk with a rebellious speech as well: “Fuck the police. Fuck the White House. Fuck everyone who does not like you”.
After the high energy performance by Spiritual Cramp, emo supergroup L.S. Dunes took the stage. L.S. Dunes consists of vocalist Anthony Green (Circa Survive), guitarist Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), drummer Tucker Rule (Thursday), bassist Tim Payne (Thursday), and lastly, guitarist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria). The performance felt very raw and intimate even in a fully packed room. I felt entranced while I watched every member showcase their own superpower. They played “Machine”, from their upcoming album Violet, which starts with dynamic bass and effortlessly impresses me with Anthony Green's clean vocals. You can check out Violet on January 31st, 2025.
Closing out the night was the long-awaited Rise Against, which took me on a trip down memory lane. I, like many fans, discovered Rise Against when Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock came out and featured “Prayer of the Refugee”, and I remembered trying so hard to keep up with the intricate chord changes. I quickly jumped into their catalog and connected with the messages of Tim McIlrath’s lyrics. The motivation in the words made me feel like they were pumping me up to march! Their lyrics are politically charged and demand action!
The first song of the set was “Satellite”, a fan-favorite that makes you lose yourself in his emotionally driven lyrics that speak of societal norms. Tim's approach with the crowd came off naturally as he spoke to them, “Orlando, Florida! We come here tonight with one agenda, and that’s to have a good fucking time…” He paused before continuing while the crowd went insane with cheers, “…we are not here on a new record, we are not trying to sell you anything, we just came here to play some songs and have a good fucking time!” The crowd erupted as they continued through the set, playing songs “Tragedy Plus Time”, “Blood, Red, White, and Blue”, giving the crowd what they wanted, and even a relatable acoustic crowd pleaser “Swing Life Away”. A highlight of the show included an audience member holding up a sign reading “Tim, I need a hug”, to which Tim had no problem getting close and personal with the crowd and climbing down to give her and surrounding onlookers hugs and high fives.
The band ended with my favorite song, "Prayer of the Refugee," before leaving the stage momentarily while the crowd screamed “One more song!” The band ran back on stage and continued with three more songs, ending with "Savior", which kept security on their toes while crowd surfers took off into the sky to the last song of their favorite band. I left the venue with a message Tim said ringing in my ears: “This place does all kinds of shows, but a show like this, at this moment on this night, the fight is outside of these doors. It’s never inside.”
