Over the years your music tastes may change and evolve, but you can always find fondness in the music you grew up listening to in high school. Whether you “grew out” of that phase, or you still rock out to it on a daily basis, hearing it can take you right back to the easier times of teenage years when the crushing weight of the world wasn’t weighing on your consciousness. This can only be a semi-escape sometimes but getting to see the band live and live in their world for a few hours truly takes you back. Rise Against has been a band I’ve been listening to for about 20 years now, and when they announced their latest North American tour I was ready to fall back into the mindset of my teenage self. The penultimate stop of the tour was at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA with support from L.S. Dunes and Cloud Nothings. Fans packed the lines early wanting to get a spot as close to the barricade as they could.

Opening the night was indie rockers Cloud Nothings from Cleveland, OH. Lead singer and guitarist Dylan Baldi was channeling his Kurt Cobain energy with his hair obscuring his face and droning into the mic with a half hazard aesthetic. But when he stepped off to the side to solo you could see his true frontman energy shine. Bassist Chris Brown was lost in the groove of his bassline as he picked away at his axe. Drummer Jayson Gerycz kept the tempo in the pocket and was the rock behind Cloud Nothings music. When Baldi or Brown let their instruments go wild, they could always rely on finding the beat again from Gerycz. Though this trio was the opening band for this tour, they decided to make the show a bit more special by making it their 10 year anniversary tour for their album Here and Nowhere Else. Performing songs from that album like “Giving Into Seeing,” “Now Hear In,” and “Pattern Walks.” We also got songs like “Mouse Policy,” “I’d Get Along,” “Enter Entirely,” and “Stay Useless.” Cloud Nothings was the perfect band to get the crowd rocking and energized for what else was to come.

Up next was a supergroup known as L.S. Dunes. This group consists of vocalist Anthony Green (Circa Survive), guitarist Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), guitarist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria), bassist Tim Payne (Thursday), and drummer Tucker Rule (Thursday). Green is a ball of never ending chaotic energy constantly exploding all over the stage. From swinging the mic around, throwing the mic stand into the air, and flailing across the whole stage. Guitarists Iero and Stever pass the lead lines back and forth, while playing with passion in their respective spots on stage. Bassist Payne is trying his best to keep up with Green’s energy, working the whole stage and putting his all into his playing. While drummer Rule was the perfect time keeper for the band, holding this all together. L.S. Dunes played mostly songs from their debut album Past Lives including “2022,” “Bombsquad,” “Grey Veins,” “Past Lives,” and “Permanent Rebellion.” We also got a few songs from their upcoming new album Violet, that comes out January of next year, that included “Machines,” “Benadryl Subreddit,” and ending with “Fatal Deluxe.” L.S. Dunes has only been around for a couple years, and though the members are in bands that are frequently touring, this is a supergroup that I feel could have a long lasting career coming back every few years when the members have down time.

Finally, it was time for our headliner, and to enjoy the blissful ignorance of life while getting lost in Rise Against music. Opening their set with “Satellite,” the band blasted us with a burst of energy sending the crowd into a frenzy. Shortly into their opening song, the crowd surfers already started coming over the barricade. Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath has a voice that carries so much weight with it. Rise Against sings a lot about political issues and the state of the world, and McIlrath’s voice makes these issues seem like the most important thing while still being a joy to rock out to. Lead Guitarist Zach Blair had to be the most animated person on stage, frequently standing right up against the edge of the stage, shredding right in front of the screaming fans. While bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes were a double team of rhythm and groove. Rise Against even graced us with a short acoustic interlude of songs that featured “Hero of War,” “Forfeit” (Making its tour debut), “Swing Life Away,” “Behind Closed Doors,” and “Prayer of the Refugee.” Hearing the acoustic strings ring out for these songs just helped add more weight to the lyric content that Rise Against often writes about. The rest of the set was an electrified thrill ride of songs like “Injection,” “Worth Dying For,” “Re-Education (Through Labor),” “The Black Market,” “Whereabouts Unknown,” “Paper Wings,” “Dancing For Rain,” “I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore,” and a three song encore of “Nowhere Generation,” “Six Ways ‘Til Sunday,” and “Savior.”

Walking into the House of Blues for a few hours this night, all the worlds’ problems were gone. I, along with everyone else in the sold out crowd, was able to let all of our worries slip away and just get lost in the music of the night. Cloud Nothings, L.S. Dunes, and Rise Against put on a massive rock show whose energy was bigger than the House of Blues could hold, and this show should have been held at a bigger arena. Though the tour has ended, Rise Against has already announced their next tour supporting Papa Roach happening in the beginning of 2025. I know where I will be when that tour comes back to Southern California, and I recommend you buy your tickets now.