Alex Swift: Bleed American was a seminal album for Jimmy Eat World. The fact that it has remained an alternative rock staple for 25 years allowing the band to perform the record in its entirety at a sold out Cardiff Castle show, is testament to the strength of the songwriting, and the deeply earned emotional catharsis of its songs.
First up though, is The Get Up Kids (8). Most famous for their Something To Write Home About album, the band's pop-punk ragers make for a brilliant start to the day. I particularly appreciated the way the keyboards intersected with the guitars whilst never drowning each other out. Indeed, despite the fact that the crowd on the whole only recognise a smattering of their songs, it's evident from their performance that this is a band that has been performing for decades, and still carries the excitement from playing that they did on day one!
I couldn't write this review without saying a few words about Rise Against myself. The Chicago punk outfit has been one of my favourite bands for longer than I care to remember. And yet, by fate or happenstance, I’ve never seen them live before. It was one hell of an experience to throw myself into the mosh pit (a rare occurrence for me these days) whilst screaming every word back at Tim Mcilrath and co. They may have only had three quarters of an hour to play, but it was absolutely worth the sixteen year wait
Chris Beyond: How to distil the politically fuelled Rise Against (9) into a 7-song set list, playing within the beautiful backdrop of the Welsh Capital inside Cardiff Castle in a supporting role for Jimmy Eat World? Turns out the answer is quite simple, you give the fans what they want!
If you are a Rise Against fan aware of their extensive back catalogue, the set list speaks for itself. However, if you are not let me explain. The most current song on the setlist was from way back in 2011. Not that I don’t enjoy the new material, however, I am pleased that a band that had an opportunity to play current offerings to a large crowd and push the commercial sale of their new album said NO! Let’s give the good people of Cardiff, fast, rebellious (pertinently relevant) hits from the 2000’s.
Rise Against did they just that from the slow burning intro to the Re-Education Of Labour which set the tone for the next 30 mins leading into their anthem Satellite.
Wasting no time, straight into the relentless Give It All caused quite a dust-storm in the mosh pit. At the front the dust that refused to relent as they went straight into the well-known Ready To Fall and just as the mosh pit was catching its breath Tim asked if Cardiff had their dancing shoes on, before playing the best song in set list the very apt Prayer Of The Refugee refusing to let the (literal) dust settle straight into Good Left Undone.
Ending the set list with fan-favourite Savior, and with the current state of affairs within the world the crowd screaming; "All smiles and sunshine, a perfect world, on a perfect day. Everything always works. I have never felt so great!" at the top of their lungs, felt like a fitting way to end a short whistle-stop tour of the epic Rise Against.
It was not all perfect, as for reasons unknown, they were late on stage and after comparing set lists from the tour, Cardiff was deprived of 3 songs under the knife, help is on the way chamber in the cartridge, which hurts as chamber in the cartridge is a personnel favourite of mine.
Having seen Rise Against four times, I also wish Tim’s vocals were a little louder, with the mixing of the vocals a little off this time. The absence of three songs and the mixing issues aside this was Rise Against at maximum tenacity.
Alex Swift: Something I immediately notice about Jimmy Eat World (9) is how crisp, and clear they sound. You might say each song rings out with remarkable clarity. Moments in the vein of A Praise Chorus have me singing at the top of my lungs whilst Hear You Me see’s me sobbing into my overpriced Cider. I loved all these songs when I first heard them, but an element of them I appreciate as an adult is how multi-layered they are. Pieces like My Sundown swell from quiet to loud, working brilliantly in the festival-esque grounds of the castle.
Throughout their set Jim Atkins describes the process of writing songs and how they took him from obscurity to fame overnight - “I can't believe people still want to hear these songs 25 years later”. In one particularly touching moment he describes one of his earliest memories being playing a show with the Get Up Kids, and Rise Against.
In that sense, tonight's show feels like a celebration of everything these bands have achieved. They emerged onto the scene with defined sounds that would influence thousands of other bands. They stand on the stage tonight as elder statesmen, no longer at the forefront of the scene they helped give rise to, but revered nevertheless.
No comments:
Post a Comment