Brum Shots

It’s a pretty dreary Sunday night, but we’ve got Spiritual Cramp to knock away the cobwebs! It’s their last night on tour with Rise Against, so they vow to play as hard as they can and be as funny as they can. And after a slightly elongated ramble about how lucky and safe they feel when performing, this promise is kept (vocalist Michael Bingham introduces ‘Herberts On Holiday’ by thanking those who have been nice to them and telling everyone else to fuck off.) They’re energy of their set is not quite met by the audience (who also get told to fuck off towards the end), but it’s a solid start to a night of punk rock!

Next up is supergroup LS Dunes. Comprised of members from bands who Rise Against could consider their children (well, influenees) it’s fitting that they’re on the line up for this tour. In contrast to Spiritual Cramp, vocalist ? is a bit more complimentary towards the crowd. ‘In here it feels like Saturday night,’ he tells us, and at this point, it really does!

The crowd surfing starts pretty much as soon as the lights go down for Rise Against. The vocals from the crowd are as loud as any speaker in the venue. Despite two and a half decades of touring the UK, they still manage to squeeze some firsts into the set, like the debut Birmingham performance of ‘Where Abouts Unknown’ or a spontaneous ‘ooggie ooggie ooggie, ay ay ay’ chant.

Known for their altruistic messages in their songs, they touch on all the usual topics. ‘Dancing For Rain,’ a climate conscious anthem is dedicated to the victims of the California wildfires, and vocalist touches on metal health during ‘I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore.’

Things calm down in the second half of the set, songs like ‘Swing Life Away’ and ‘People Live Here’ provoke some of the most heart warming reactions. But then we’re thrown back into the old school punk stylings of their early work with new track ‘Nod.’

The encore takes us back to the start and finishes strong with an extended version of ‘Saviour’. The nostalgia in the room is strong, just not as strong as security guards who’ve had to bundle crowd surfers out all night…