From afar, the clouded sky above Petco Park seemed to glow as if a UFO hovered inside. Streams of differently colored light emerged into the darkening sky, creating a light show for all of downtown San Diego to see.
“What the heck is going on?” a passerby said. “They got a rave going on in there?”
It was no rave; it was the start of Rise Against and Papa Roach’s Rise of the Roach tour, a double performance of the two powerhouses of the early 90s and 2000s hardcore and numetal scene.
Veteran rockers filed into the metal gates of Gallagher Square, rife in ripped black t-shirts, face piercings, and colorful hair. Inside, the open venue was filling up quickly, with fans crowding before the stage all the way up to the second level. Petco Park loomed just behind the stage and high rise apartments flanking the area were dotted with people watching from balconies.
At the exact moment 6 p.m. struck, opening act Underoath stormed on stage. The Tampa post-hardcore band started on an energetic high note, screaming and crashing drums to music from their recent albums Voyeurist and just released The Place After This One. Among well-liked songs like “Writing on the Walls,” which had fans singing along, they performed “Loss” and “Generation No Surrender” from the new album with a renewed vitality.
Fans bobbed their heads to the newer songs, but the focus on newer music seemed to disappoint the older crowd that had come for nostalgic hits. Underoath began in 1997 and reunited after a 2013 disbanding with a modern melodic rock style that was on full display that night, accompanied by punk guitar solos. Despite their excitement, the set passed in a flash, and less than an hour later they waved offstage.
In a light display fit for Fourth of July, Rise Against roared into a riveting set that stirred fans up into a frenzy, bouncing off each other’s bodies and spilling their beers as they jumped frantically. The Chicago hardcore group had a pop-punk edge and punchy drumming that thundered through the venue. Alternating between twanging electric guitar, low groans and throaty yells, Rise Against’s singer Tim McIlrath commanded the crowd with a remarkable presence— and a megaphone.
“Tell me: do you feel alive tonight?” McIlrath called through the megaphone.
His powerhouse high pitch vocals reeled fans into a noisy set complete with instrumentals that rang out as if the band shared a brain. Fans went wild for the wide-ranging set that included band sing-along classics like “Savior” and “Give it All” and newer brighter hits like “Nod.” McIlrath waved his arm before himself and fans reached back in a musical back and forth. Crowd surfers and moshers were abound as lead guitarist Zach Blair ran through complicated and rousing riffs.
Diving fully into lyricism and thundering riffs, Rise Against displayed a passion for their music and genuine appreciation for fans, smiling and reaching into the front row. Their warmth as performers created a joyful camaraderie among the crowd as Papa Roach’s anticipated show loomed.
“Savior by Rise Against was the highlight song for me,” longtime fan Jasmine Carino said. I just had surgery and I feel like rocking out even though I’m in this wheelchair.”
A powerful yell, streams of white smoke blasting upwards and squealing guitar blew through the venue like a rush of cold wind.
“San Diego, are you ready for some motherf-cking Papa Roach?” lead singer Jacoby Shaddix yelled.
Shaddix was a delight onstage and certainly a character to behold. He bounced around without taking a single break, calling out to San Diego as if it were his hometown. With a strong voice and a youthful energy, Shaddix turned Gallagher Square into a trampoline, instructing fans to jump, move and dance freely.
While certainly a celebration of a long career, Papa Roach also made many nods to the nu-metal scene they were born from and helped to cement. While playing covers of Korn and Limp Bizkit, Shaddix disappeared from the stage and reappeared, in an unbelievable reveal, at the center of the crowd, rapping to fans. When he leaped back on stage, the bursts of smoke on stage were accompanied with fire as he launched into “Getting Away with Murder.”
The wild, relentless and unrestrained energy of the band during the lengthy show rose the spirit of the night. When flameballs and passionate belting had reached its peak, Papa Roach surprised fans with tender moments of respite and seriousness. Shaddix spoke openly about his struggles with addiction and depression, a lived experience that is at the core of many of the band’s songs. The rawness of the moment lent into an emotional “Tear Away.”
In another musical nod of the night, Shaddix remembered old friend and fellow 2000’s rock frontman Chester Bennington, who passed away from suicide eight years ago.
“Chester and I did Ozzfest together here in Chula Vista years ago. We joked that our goal was to get our wives pregnant at Ozzfest—We got our wives pregnant at Ozzfest,” Shaddix laughed. “Now my son is 23, time flies man. We’re here to celebrate life, celebrate music.”
Papa Roach was particularly compelling in its ability to balance nostalgia and freshness. While they started off with newer music, as the show continued, the concert was pulled further back in time until reaching nothing short of an explosive conclusion with “Last Resort.” By the end, chests were certainly heaving from the exertion that Papa Roach drew out of the audience.
“It was pretty crazy, it was my first concert with Papa Roach,” attendee Felipe Carduno said. “I loved how rowdy it got yet still respectful of one another. If someone falls down, we pick them up and just keep moshing each other. And the bit about suicide awareness, it was powerful. It made me want to call my friends.”
That night in Gallagher Square, Papa Roach was past being a band; it was a shared experience and a celebration of life.
