Rise Against at the Mann with Descendents and Spanish Love Songs

Philadelphia, PA – With the Philadelphia skyline as a backdrop, the Mann Center hosted three high-energy punk-hardcore-thrash rock bands ready to blow the humidity into the atmosphere, cruise the food trucks and relax with a beer and a cheesesteak.

Spanish Love Songs hit the stage and ripped through Brave Faces Everyone. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Dylan Slocum, guitarist Kyle McAulay, drummer Ruben Duarte, bassist Trevor Dietrich, and keyboardist Meredith Van Woert. 

The whole set was from their Brave Faces Everyone album released last year before lockdown. We knew quickly that there wasn’t any salsa and senoritas with these guys, they were pure mucho Habanero-Caliente. Just what we needed to clear our heads and loosen up the neck muscles.

As the roadies scurried like waiters on Mother’s Day to quickly set the stage for The Decendents, the crowd was revved up and looking for more. With Milo Aukeman on vocals, Karl Alvarez and Stephen Egerton on guitars, and Bill Stephenson on the skins, this veteran hard-core punk band showed their roots that hail from the late seventies. It was evident with their stage command and brilliant heavy guitar.

I love ‘I’m The One” from their Everything Sucks album. Their new album, 9^th & Walnut, is a collection of songs from the band’s early years, which were included in a 40-minute, nonstop and blistering set. These guys move so fast and have so much energy it is contagious. I could smell a mosh pit forming. Starboard side was sucking in hardcore thrashers who could withstand a punch or a kick in the head, true warriors “Without Love”.

As the lights dimmed for the headliner, the guitar feedback grabbed your attention. Rise Against ripped into “The Numbers” off their new album, Nowhere Generation, and the party began.

Zach Blair (guitar) shredded through “Satellite”, “Ready to Fall”, “Nowhere Generation” as Tim Mcllrath (guitar, vocals), Brandon Barnes (drums) and Joe Principe (bass) remind us that we are out enjoying live music again after lockdown and that it’s so good to be playing live again. With an in-your-face attitude, light show, and percussion, Rise Against is a force in the hardcore, punk rock arena. They play with aggressive sound and tempo that reminds me of the Ramones, the Clash, and lyrically, when I first heard The Who. Following by the song “Give it All”, the band went into an acoustic set featuring “Make it Stop”, “Good Left Undone” and “Prayer”. To look over their discography is to see a band with major accomplishments throughout the last two decades and they truly gave a power-packed show!

PHOTO GALLERY

Show Date: August 1, 2021