Rise Against, Thursday, Sage Francis – Live (December 3rd, 2008)

For a punk rock show of this magnitude, Sage Francis was an odd choice for an opening act. While yes, I understand he has earned respect in the punk rock community and was, as he said, “plucked from the hip-hop community and thrown into the punk rock one,” I can’t help but think that it would’ve been more appropriate at a slightly smaller punk rock show. But here he was anyway, ready to spit our his rhymes to the sold out crowd.

He started off well with some good, self-deprecating humour that got people laughing and more at ease with seeing a sole MC on the stage instead of a full blown band. Songs like Jah Didn’t Kill Johnnyand Escape Artist were played to a great response and he even got the crowd to help him out on Damage. So while it may not have been the most natural of shows, the crowd accepted him and cheered along when necessary; well, for the most part anyway. To end his thirty minute set he chose the heavily politically track – and the first song I had ever heard by him – Makeshift Patriot. Throughout the track you could see him singing directly at one person but as the song was suddenly stopped you realized he wasn’t playing to a fan but instead an instigator. Obviously angered, Sage Francis completely attacked one kid in the front row; calling him out for yelling “Rise Against!” throughout his entire set, Sage Francis reminded him of the fact that it was Rise Against who invited him on tour and that chanting their name won’t get them out any faster. Pointing out his Zoo York hoodie and “flavour of the month” haircut, the MC ended his thirty minutes with a simple instruction: “have some fucking respect” and walked off as Team America‘s America, Fuck Yeah! faded out through the background. An odd ending for sure, but one that will never be forgotten.

New Jersey’s Thursday were up next and treated the crowd to a set that made a bit more sense to them. Like always, Thursday put on a solid performance, playing songs that spanned their entire career; from Understanding in A Car Crash to one from their recent split with Envy and even a new cut from their forthcoming album that had Tim McIlrath grabbing a mic and joining in. The highlight of their set was, like always, their stage presence. By lowering all the lights in the building and flooding the stage with red from behind, the band created a picture perfect combination of shadows and music that is always memorable.

But it was Rise Against who got people out of the beer gardens and in front of the stage. The floor was packed air tight as they ripped into Drones and Give It All; it wasn’t until they hit the third song –State of The Union – that you actually had some room to breathe and move at whim. The melodic hardcore act swerved in and out of releases, going from Collapse (Post-Amerika), to Behind Closed Doors and Heaven Knows without a stopping. There was, however, a heavy leniency towards their newer material as they played five songs from Appeal to Reason and eight from The Sufferer and The Witness. This had its ups and downs. While it was nice to hear some of the newer material, I missed their older stuff as well. I was glad to hear Life Less Frightening finally, a song they’ve rarely played in Edmonton; but they missed Paper Wings, Dancing For Rain and tons of cuts from Revolutions Per Minute that I would’ve loved to hear. Plus, with only one song from The Unraveling, they passed overEverchanging and Six Ways ‘Till Sunday too.

Like they always do for their encores, Tim walked onto the stage with an acoustic stage; this time however he was joined by Zach Blair too so they could belt out the new acoustic song Hero of War. Afterwards he began talking about touring and friends in bands who had faded which got me hoping they’d play Jawbreaker‘s Tour Song or maybe Everchanging but alas he kept it safe with Swing Life Away – and by the rise in volume as the crowd sung along, it was clear that I was probably the only one hoping to hear a different acoustic song. After that they put away the acoustic to play three final songs,Audience of One, The Good Left Undone and Prayer of the Refugee, before calling it a night and sending all the sweaty kids home for the evening.