As a blizzard swept through the area, Madison’s alternative scene — outfitted in black ripped jeans, inventive earrings, flannels and dyed hair — found refuge in The Sylvee as Chicago-based punk rock band Rise Against shook the building Sunday night.
Despite the weather, hundreds were in attendance for the show. When asked by lead singer Tim McIlrath, many in the crowd indicated they had seen Rise Against before, but at least half were attending a concert of theirs for the first time that night. The band itself admitted they hadn’t played in Madison for around 10 years, though after experiencing the crowd at The Sylvee, they pledged to return soon.
Openers Koyo and Destroy Boys, from Stony Brook, New York and Sacramento, California, respectively, brought the energy to start the evening. Koyo’s guitars and drums reverberated through the venue, and Destroy Boys was, as their name suggested, proudly feminist, beginning their set with audio from Louis Theroux’s new documentary on the ‘manosphere’ and ending with a call to support trans people.
At a Rise Against show, it was no surprise the politics were unabashedly left-wing. The band has supported progressive politics throughout their career, opposing the Iraq war more than 20 years ago and recently playing a charity concert in Minneapolis for the families of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were both killed by immigration agents.
The band started their set around 9:30 p.m. with the song “The Good Left Undone,” a song about a devastating break-up that repeats the lyrics “all because of you” throughout the chorus. While the meaning of the song is meant to be sad, the band used that “all because of you” lyric to thank the audience for attending.
“Through thick and thin, through rain and snow,” McIlrath said, “we come here because of you.”
Crowd surfers were numerous throughout the show, with a new person being passed around the pit every couple of seconds. Mosh pits formed for most of the songs, except some of the slower ballads, such as “Hero of War,” which laments the destruction of war, both abroad and to soldiers who are serving.
The show remained political, with McIlrath’s crowd conversations between songs referencing modern American politics.
“We live in a world where the battle for the soul of America is happening right outside of these walls,” he said.
This sentiment was echoed by multiple shouts of “Fuck Donald Trump” from throughout the crowd.
Rise Against’s grand finale was their most popular song, “Savior,” though they had a three-song encore, which officially ended with “Prayer of the Refugee,” a song McIlrath used to speak about immigration.
The crowd sang, head-banged and danced around to the heavy guitars and drums, which literally reverberated through the building and shook The Sylvee’s metal foundation. The show was loud and angry at the state of the world, but also showcased a community dedicated to making it better.
Annika Bereny is the campus news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the special pages editor. As a staff writer, she's written in-depth on campus news specializing in protest policy, free speech and historical analysis. She has also written for state and city news. She is a History and Journalism major. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
