Writing punk-fueled anthems about stuff that really matters has not been the formula for success these days, so score one for the good guys.
That would be Rise Against, a band that rose through the Chicago hardcore scene and the ranks of Warped. After opening for the Foo Fighters in the fall, the band returned to rock the young wild things who filled the sold-out Stage AE Outdoors on Sunday night.
Rise Against hasn't risen to this level by doing anything groundbreaking musically. It just plays with ferocious energy, and singer/shouter Tim McIlrath packages his heartfelt anthems, whether about social issues, justice or love, with just enough of a pop hook to grab people. (Pittsburgh's own Anti-Flag is comparable, though a deal more forceful and abrasive in the message.)
Mr. McIlrath didn't preach to the choir, choosing to let his thoughtful and sometimes abstract lyrics battle through the clatter. You almost want those opera subtitles so you can follow along. It's hard to reduce a lot his songs down to one meaning, but he took on environmental disaster ("Help is on the Way"), casualties of war ("Survivor Guilt"), economic injustice ("Disparity by Design"), hope ("Satellite") and dignity ("Prayer of the Refugee").
After blasting away for an hour, the singer gave the ears a rest by unplugging for the gentle "Audience of One" and "Swing Life Away" before revving up again with the powerful anti-bullying anthem "Make it Stop (September's Children)" and closing with "Savior." With so much mindless and hedonistic pop dominating the market, it was heartening and surprising to see people sing along to a rock band that actually has something to say.
Rise Against brought Pennsylvania pop-punks Title Fight and Florida's A Day to Remember, who couldn't decide if its calling was punk or metal, so decided to split it halfway Frontman Jeremy McKinnon switches from singing clean with passion and emotion to roaring guttural growls like he's in Cannibal Corpse.
The crowd was super hyped, jumping, surfing, throwing toilet paper and shouting the words to such songs as "A Shot in the Dark," "All Signs Point to Lauderdale" and "All I Want." Mr. McKinnon picked up a cool trick from Flaming Lips, rolling over his fans in a giant inflatable hamster ball.
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Marilyn Manson, who built his reputation on shock and awe in the '90s, used to go to the rock star prop shop and write big check before he came to town.
Saturday night, opening the outdoor season at Stage AE, his biggest visual trick was the pyro from PNC Park, visible to the lawn crowd.
Oh, he did have a dagger microphone and a portable fog hose, which should be standard issue for goth, glam and industrial rockers.
Initially, this was intended to be an indoor club show, but it's still odd and dispiriting that Manson, on the comeback trail from a career exile, didn't have any new visual concept to accompany his just-released "Born Villain" album. No video, no backdrop, and only three backing musicians, including faithful sidekick Twiggy Ramirez, who looked stunning in a Victorian gown. Two of his longtime minstrels -- John 5 and Ginger Fish -- ran off with a Zombie (Rob, who's coming next week), but the sound was pretty much the same: crunchy industrial grind soaked in an acid bath of distortion.
"Born Villain" did freshen the set with a few grimy rockers, "No Reflection" and "Pistol Whipped," and Manson rolled out a dirtied-up cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus." It all built toward a run of "greatest hits" for the outcast and disenfranchised: the creaky cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," mysanthropic fist-pumper "Irresponsible Hate Anthem," "Antichrist Superstar" and lurching show-stopper "The Beautiful People."
Manson kept the energy high and the vibe sleazy, with his sex and drug banter. Still, this was a strangely stripped-down Manson, trying to regain a thread of relevance long past his heyday.
First Published: May 7, 2012, 8:45 a.m.
