[CONCERT REVIEW] A Day To Remember & Rise Against @ The Patriot Center 2/5/12

The co-headlining tour consisting of A Day To Remember & Rise Against with openers The Mezingers culminated last night at the Patriot Center on the grounds of George Mason University. Despite it being Super Bowl Sunday, the venue was packed up to the nosebleed seats and everyone there was eager for the bands to take the stage. Unfortunately, traffic prevented me from arriving in time to catch The Mezingers, but from what I gathered from the people around me, they delivered a great set.

After reaching my seats and waiting for about ten minutes, A Day To Remember (ADTR) took the stage to a warm reception, carrying in tow a few beach balls that were launched into the crowd. ADTR’s set could best be described as a party on stage, from throwing toilet paper into the crowd, to a man in a Gumby costume with a gun shooting out t-shirts, to finally ending their set with balloons falling from the ceiling. During their song “Homesick” a fight broke out in the pit, and the lead singer said “Dude, why are you guys fighting during a song that’s about my mom?”, despite the fight the band continued on with their set. Their set was definitely one to remember (pun intended), with great crowd interaction and all the hilarious on-stage antics, what was there to not like about their set? Video footage of “The Downfall Of Us All” & their closing song can be viewed below, as well as a picture of the band’s setlist.

The Downfall Of Us All

The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle

Stage For Rise Against

After ADTR warmed up the crowd, Rise Against was set to take the stage. The band had a great stage production set up with a backdrop featuring an eye with the band’s trademark fist & heart logo in the iris and small video screens across the stage. Once the house lights turned off, a small video montage played on the video screens and then the band took the stage by storm and launched into the song “Survivor Guilt”. The band played most of their hits such as “The Good Left Undone”, “Re-Education Through Labor”, and “Prayer Of The Refugee” to name a few. Also the band threw in a few rarities like “Broken English”, “Drones” , and “Blood To Bleed” to mix it up a bit. The band was quite energetic and the members never stood in one place for long with the audience enjoying every minute of it. Mosh pits and plenty of crowd surfing was taking place down on the floor, while the seated section felt like it was experiencing an earthquake with everyone jumping up and down to the band’s music.

Survivor Guilt

Help Is On The Way

Re-Education Through Labor

The main set of the show ended with “Prayer Of The Refugee” ending with a standing ovation from everyone that already wasn’t standing up, adding on to the crowd chanting for one more song from the band. Lead singer, Tim McIlrath went back to the stage with an acoustic guitar in tow and treated the crowd to two more songs. Glancing at the crowd, everyone was singing along while holding up lighters and cell phones, a sight to behold indeed. Footage of “Swing Life Away” & “Prayer Of The Refugee” can be viewed below.

Prayer Of The Refugee

Swing Life Away

The band afterwards, then proceeded to treat the crowd to two more encores worth of songs, finally (sadly) ending their set with their hit “Savior”. Rise Against proved once again last night, that they are one of the most explosive live acts in the music scene today. The band ended the first leg of the tour last night, but they will head across the pond for an extensive European tour, and then back to the United States in April for the second leg of the tour with A Day To Remember. Dates and ticket links can be seen at the band’s website, and footage of “Savior” can be seen below.

Savior