Photos and a review of Night 3 of Ottawa CityFolk Festival with Rise Against, Explosions in the Sky and Soen

[Still more from Ottawa correspondent Ross MacDonald. Soen photos by Melody Maloney- AC]

It was Friday the 13th of September in Ottawa, but nobody was feeling unlucky. The unseasonably warm and dry weather in Ottawa was perfect for the third night of Ottawa’s CityFolk music festival, and the night’s headliners were Chicago punk rockers Rise Against https://riseagainst.com/ . Now that’s some seriously good luck.

As the sun was starting to set and in the golden hour, Swedish metal rockers Soen took to the stage. Right from the opening notes the growing crowd realised that Soen are not a typical metal band.

Most metal bands are renowned for unbelievably fast guitar riffs and screaming vocals. Soen’s Joel Ekelöf delivered strong vocals, but no eardrums were burst at the festival.

Instead, Soen’s music was very melodious, like a mix of old-school progressive rock and heavy metal (not unlike the early music of Alice In Chains or Soundgarden). Many audience members, seemingly not metal fans, sounded surprised as they were overheard chatting about how surprised they were and how much they enjoyed the band and their music.

Soen were obviously one of those hidden gems that one discovers at a multi-day festival. Kudos to the CityFolk team for delivering a wonderful surprise hit.

Next up were a shoe-gaze band out of Texas called Explosions In The Sky . The set began with a very brief intro from guitarist Munaf Rayani and they got right down to business.

With three guitarists, utilising a plethora of effects pedals, the music had many intricate and beautiful layers. But the set turned into one big jam session, blending one song into the next. It seemed like Explosions In The Sky were taking shoe-gaze a little too far, with essentially no audience interaction.

The psychedelic rock didn’t seem like an ideal fit sandwiched between a metal band and a punk rock band; they lost the audience. The music was beautiful but not engaging.

After another quick stage change it was time for the headliners. And the near-capacity crowd exploded when Rise Against took the stage; this is what everyone had come to see.

And Rise Against did not disappoint! Fresh off a European tour there were no signs of jetlag, just endless energy. The band started off with a trio of fast and hard songs from the first half of their career: ‘Satellite’, ‘Under The Knife’, and ‘Give It All’.

For ‘Under The Knife’ lead singer Tim McIlrath picked up a megaphone for some added vocal effects, a touch of distortion, and vocals that were loud, yet uncannily seemed distant.

For their third song ‘Give It All’ Tim handed his megaphone and Gibson SG to his tech with the fast hands, and belted out the lyrics right from his heart. Tim was extremely engaging with the crowd, often pointing to exuberant fans and making eye contact with pretty much everyone over the course of the evening.

Tim even went off the stage, across the pit, and leaned into the first rows of the crowd. He sang up close and personal, and also shook hands and gave high fives to as many fans as he could.

Rise Against are a band from the 2000s, but their lyrics and actions offstage are old-school punk. It as almost as if the band has taken Joe Strummer’s politics and brought them into today’s challenges. And Rise Against also embodies the spirit of The Clash in that punk doesn’t have to be uniquely loud and hard all the time, they deliver the messages with musical eloquence.

‘Make It Stop (September’s Children)’ is a perfect example. It has a beautiful melody, the whole crowd was singing along, but the messages of anti-bullying, anti-racism, and acceptance of LGBT+ continues to be as important as ever.

Rise Against truly love Canada. Midway through the set Tim wanted everyone to know: “We love Canada and the bands here: Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Cancer Bats, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some.” Over the years Rise Against has toured with many Canadian bands. In 2022 they co-headlined a tour with Canada’s Billy Talent, bringing along up and coming Montréal punk-rockers NoBro.

Rise Against performs live with a solid sound. With Zac and Tim on guitars, backed up with a fast-driving rhythm section. Brandon hits the skins and cymbals hard and fast, while Joe picks his bass strings effortlessly while moving from one side of the stage to the other. Everyone in the audience has the opportunity to see all the band members at some point (except Brandon, although his kit isn’t extravagant, he leans into the toms and cymbals and can be hard to spot).

Two thirds through the set it was time for everyone to break out their cell phone lights and sway back and forth singing along with Tim to their gorgeous hit single ‘Swing Life Away’. It was also an opportunity for couples to catch a quick cuddle.

But after that brief respite, it was back to the business of punk rock. And their set closed out with their biggest and fastest songs, including debuting a new song ‘Want It All’, the first time played live in North America.

The Encore was closed out with ‘Savior’. The song builds beautifully from a moderate tempo to all-out frantic. Again, everyone in the crowd was jumping up and down and singing along with the band. It was a powerful end to the evening.

Perhaps Rise Against deserves to be billed as “America’s Only Band That Matters”. Regardless, Friday the 13th brought good luck to Ottawa this year.

Rise Against:
Tim McIlrath – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Joe Principe – bass guitar, backing vocals
Brandon Barnes – drums
Zach Blair – lead guitar, backing vocals

Explosions In The Sky:
Chris Hrasky – drums
Michael James – guitar
Munaf Rayani – guitar
Mark Smith – guitar
Jay Demko – bass

Soen:
Joel Ekelöf – lead vocals
Martín López – drums
Lars Åhlund – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
Cody Lee Ford – guitars, backing vocals
Oleksii ‘Zlatoyar’ Kobel – bass