Last Tuesday I went to see Rise Against at Saltair. Other bands playing that night were The Gaslight Anthem, Thrice and Alkaline Trio. Despite reminding myself multiple times not to, I forgot my camera in the car which resulted in a halfway decent attempt at taking pictures with my phone.

We got there in time to hear a couple Gaslight songs and I was not a fan. Their music was okay at best. After them was Thrice. I haven’t seen them for at least four or five years. They played a good set. My favorite was their cover of Helter Skelter. Third was Alkaline Trio. I saw them a few years ago and loved them live. This time around they didn’t rock out too much and the sound levels were all over the place. I still enjoyed them but was a little let down.

To finish the night Rise Against headlined. Last year they put on a great show and this year was the same. They played for almost an hour and a half highlighting mainly their new CD, Appeal to Reason. Again the sound levels were way off but by the end of their set the sound guy finally figured it out.

I loved the encore when they played their new acoustic, Hero Of War, along with their well-known, Swing Life Away. Rise against is a very good example of how a band should put on a show. They have incredible energy, they move around and get into the music, they are very dynamic and know how to entertain the crowd. I very much appreciated that they didn’t try to shove their own agenda down our throats as many bands do. They simply made reference to how nice it will be to have a new president and that was it. Thank you.

I really wish Saltair would get its act together and stop putting on shows with such craptastic sound. It seems like every other show I see there is the same with muted and mediocre levels. And sadly Saltair is bigger thus resulting in bigger bands and more expensive tickets. I’d rather see a show at the smaller Avalon or In the Venue any day.

The Market will be playing at Saltair with Anberlin, Hoobastank and The Brobecks next month on December 12. Tickets are only $9.60! I hope everyone can come.