Rise Against Paint the Town Orange at Brixton Academy Show

Brixton was taken over on Thursday February 7th 2025. A plethora of orange “RA” insignias covered the rain soaked pavement outside of the iconic O2 Academy. People in orange jumpsuits swarmed the area, handing out mysterious leaflets. “Bang”, it begins. It is a poem, a manifesto - a dawn of a new era for Chicago legends Rise Against. 

In their first UK appearance since 2022, the band dominated one of the capital’s most loved venues, ushering in an exciting new beginning for the band. 

The show boasted an impressive three-band lineup, with San Francisco punk rockers Spiritual Cramp taking the stage first. 

The band’s bouncy new-wave tinged punk was instantly captivating, lead vocalist Michael Bingham commanding the audience with ease. “Do you want to see me drink some water?” he yells. “Should I do it fast or slow?”. 

One of the highlights of the performance was perhaps the most vigorous and electrifying display of tambourine playing ever to grace the Academy’s stage, courtesy of Jose-Luna Gonzalez. Spiritual Cramp are undeniably captivating performers with a magnetic stage presence, a perfect way to kick things off!

After a brief intermission, post-hardcore supergroup L.S. Dunes launched into their set. Starting with their first release, the frantic romp ‘Permanent Rebellion'. Having just released their sophomore album ‘Violet’, fans eager to hear these new songs live were not disappointed. True to the spirit of the band's music, there was a palpable sense of catharsis in the atmosphere. Especially as the crowd passionately screamed the lyrics of the album’s title track back to the band; “know that I forgive you, but I never will forget”. Singer Anthony Green shared his stage with the fans, often using his hands to spread the microphones power towards his audience, even throwing the mic into the crowd to let them sing. Coming from some of the best the scene has to offer, L.S. Dunes are an incredibly tight performance unit - erratic yet controlled, endlessly arresting. 

As the audience’s anticipation reached boiling point, the lights went down, and a familiar manifesto read loud began to echo through the old cinema. “Chaos. Crossfire. Chain reaction. RICOCHET. RISE AGAINST”. The stage set up conjures up the image of Foucault’s panopticon, bright spotlights circle the band and point directly into the audience, a sense that everyone is being watched. The band members themselves are each also lit by a bright white light. The sterile setting perfectly replicates the band’s focus on power structures and makes a subtle political comment on today’s surveillance society. Behind the band hangs a large orange banner sporting the same “RA” logo that covered the streets outside. Under the feet of each band member is the familiar heart-fist logo that adorns t-shirts and tattoos throughout the crowd. The two logos bridge a gap, showing allegiance to where they came from but in effect hard-launching their new era by enveloping the background in orange. 

Filled with a palpable, infectious energy from the get go, the band opened with ‘Satellite'; an already impassioned crowd becoming joyfully riotous. Vocalist Tim McIlrath took several opportunities throughout the night to speak to the crowd. From politics to personal life he shared multiple little speeches that brought the audience ever closer. He made the point to emphasise the importance of music as a shared experience - saying that the audience were perfect people to bring songs to life with. 

Being their first London show in quite some time there was a sense that years of bottled up excitement was released in its excess from everyone and it was clear the band felt the same. There was not a closed mouth in the house, oftentimes the band could not be heard for the sound of thousands of fans pouring their hearts out over every lyric. Nowhere was this better captured than during the acoustic song ‘Swing Life Away’, a sentimental ballad that chronicles life’s tenderness in the everyday. The sheer volume of the incredibly passionate 5000-strong crowd was enough to overwhelm anyone with emotion, the atmosphere thick with cathartic release. McIlrath also made sure everyone knew that his new dog was named Brixie after “his favourite venue in London”.  

There is an unbridled excitement to the live performance of Rise Against. The sharpness of the drums and the ever-changing tempo of the songs are almost like a rollercoaster, the audience in tandem with the rise and fall. Each band on the lineup valued connection with their audience and their efforts to connect through music paid off; elated audience members filed out of the building radiating that ecstatic “I’ve just seen my favourite band feeling”. 

Almost three decades into their career, Rise Against are a punk rock tour-de-force, an unmissable live band. 2025 is shaping up to be a massive year for the band, with their European leg of the tour in full swing and new music on the way the four-piece clearly have no plans of slowing down. 

Eylem Boz

@itwslv

Images: Amy Shephard