If you were wondering where to be on this past Monday evening, it was at The Factory in Deep Ellum experiencing the Nowhere Generation Tour with Rise Against joined by The Used and Senses Fail. The theme for the night as nostalgia and the packed house was proof that even the deep cuts could get the crowd off their feet. Every person that walked into the venue was in for a spectacular night. 

Starting out the might were the heroes in Senses Fail. A band that I have been listening to for years and who I was stoked to capture for the first time in 2018 at the last ever cross-country Vans Warped Tour. Starting out the set with “Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning”, Senses Fail was off without a hitch. The first time I heard Senses Fail, it was in middle school playing Guitar Hero and “Can’t Be Saved” came across the screen. Funny enough, I have listened to them on and off for years, so it was cool to be able to see that song live. They played a lot of their most popular songs like “Calling All Cars”, “Buried a Lie”, and “Bite to Break Skin”. Of course, they had to play “Can’t Be Saved” because we all know the elder emos needed to hear it. Can’t wait for them to come back.

Next up were Utah natives, The Used. Having seen them back in early 2020 before the world shut down, I knew I was in for another great night seeing them. Another band that helped lay the groundwork for the new generation of scene emo bands. Bert McCracken is one of those iconic front men in my humble opinion. Always has a great stage presence and gets the crowd going. They got the set started with “Maybe Memories” a staple off their 2002 self-titled album. A fe songs I was super excited about seeing again were “I Caught Fire”, “All That I’ve Got”, “Buried Myself Alive”, and “The Taste of Ink”. At this point the crowd was massive and chanting every word to the songs. The vibe in the room was one for the books and I was stoked to be there. They closed out their set with “A Box Full of Sharp Objects” and a cool rendition of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. 10/10.
 

And lastly, the guys in Rise Against were about to hit the stage. You could tell there was quite the anticipation in the room. Celebrating over 20 years, they have been a pillar for the scene when it came to the rights of the people and doing what was right. We got to experience some words from Tim McIlrath about some of the recent events and what the band believed in at various points of the show. At one point a fan threw a pride flag onstage and he wrapped it around the headstock of his guitar. Getting things going, they started out with “Prayer for the Refugee”, one of my favorites by them. Never having seen them before, surprisingly enough, I was impressed with how great they sounded live. Some stand out songs for me they played were “Ready To Fall”, “The Good Left Undone”, and their encore songs “Survive” and lastly “Savior”. If you saw the size of the crowd, you’d know why Rise Against is just one of those bands you go see when they come to town. Not many bands like them out there so I can’t wait to see them roll through Dallas again on an even bigger tour. Be sure to catch them on this run. Phenomenal show!