Rise Against’s Fall North American Tour Sells Out Anaheim

At the tail end of their 2024 Fall North American Tour, American punk band Rise Against sells out the Anaheim House of Blues for their second to last show on November 20th to perform longtime favorites from some of their older albums. With support from L.S. Dunes, a newer rock band comprised of vocalist Anthony Green from Circa Survive, Saosin, and The Sound of Animals Fighting, guitarist Frank Iero from My Chemical Romance, and guitarist Travis Stever from Coheed and Cambria, along with Cleveland-formed indie rock band Cloud Nothings, the venue was bound to sell out.

L.S. Dunes was the perfect group to come on ahead of the headliners bringing the upbeat and fun-riffs coinciding with Anthony Green’s level one-hundred energy, charisma and silliness and a gigantic crowd amped beyond belief. This was definitely one of the most crowded venues I may have ever experienced with shoulder to shoulder squeezing from wall to wall and crowds spilling out into the hallways, but leave it to these legends to pack the place.

The stage went dark and then to a blue light to welcome vocalist Tim McIlrath, guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes of Rise Against on as they jumped right into a few golden favorites for their openers. Starting with “Satellite” from their 2011 album Endgame, the band knew immediately that this crowd was full of real ones, everyone singing and shouting along with every single lyric for almost every single song. They then dived into some of my personal favorites off their 2005 album The Sufferer & The Witness including fast-paced and buzzy anthem, “Injection” followed by the heart-pounding, “Worth Dying For,” all exhibiting Tim’s ska moves, megaphone blaring and personal connection with the audience.

As with most punk shows, the stage was set simply with just a black and white banner that read, “RISE” hung behind them and three taped-down mats with the Rise Against powerfist and heart logo. The lights were all over the place from dark blue to lime green to flashes of white and everything in between. The band then visited their 2007 album Appeal to Reason with “Re-Education (Through Labor)” and “Whereabouts Unknown” along with “The Black Market” and “I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore” from their 2013 album The Black Market. Tim paused before “The Black Market” to thank the opening band Cloud Nothings as he dedicated the song to them, and paused before “Whereabouts Unknown” to remind the crowd that the whole point of the show was to have fun and play some older songs including some they have never played live in LA.

The show then traversed into some songs from the 2003 album Siren Song of the Counter-Culture including “Paper Wings,” “Dancing for Rain” and an acoustic performance of “Swing Life Away,” along with acoustic performances of “Hero of War” from Appeal to Reason and “Forfeit” from their newest 2021 album Nowhere Generation.

Picking the pace back up, the setlist jumped back to my favorite album The Sufferer & The Witness bringing the set home with “Behind Closed Doors” and an all-time personal favorite, “Prayer of the Refugee” with the crowd going back into a screaming frenzy and crowd-surfers launching off by the minute. After a moment to pause, the band came back out to a raging audience for an encore including “Nowhere Generation,” “Six Ways ‘Til Sunday” and “Savior” along with some important remarks from Tim about being each other’s saviors during these politically tense and precarious times.

One of the most appreciated qualities of punk music is that the themes and lyrics are often always politically and socially relevant which makes the songs feel timeless and, especially today, necessary. Rise Against has always been at the forefront of the modern punk wave for me and tonight was a clear reminder why. As this Fall tour comes to a close with one performance day left in Del Mar, catch Rise Against next year as they plan to tour with Papa Roach and special guests Underoath on The Rise of the Roach Tour 2025.

Set List:

Satellite (2011 Endgame)

Injection (2005 The Sufferer & The Witness)

Worth Dying For (2005 The Sufferer & The Witness)

Re-Education (Through Labor) (2007 Appeal To Reason)

The Black Market (2013 The Black Market)

Whereabouts Unknown (2007 Appeal To Reason)

Paper Wings (2003 Siren Song of the Counter-Culture)

Dancing for Rain (2003 Siren Song of the Counter-Culture)

I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore (2013 The Black Market)

(acoustic) Hero of War (2007 Appeal To Reason)

Forfeit (2021 Nowhere Generation)