Rise Against performs at The Masonic in San Francisco on Aug. 22, 2021. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO — “I know I’ve been gone for what seems like forever, but I’m here now waiting.” The lyric may have been written some 15 years ago, but on Sunday night it seemed just as relevant as ever, coming from Rise Against vocalist Tim McIlrath.

“A lot of these songs haven taken on a new meaning for me over these past 18 months,” McIlrtah said a few songs into the band’s set at The Masonic, the first event the venue has hosted since before the start of the pandemic. 

He certainly wasn’t wrong, the band’s socially conscious and politically aware lyrics certainly hit differently at what was the first live music in quite some time for the majority of the audience. 

Rise Against performs at The Masonic in San Francisco on Aug. 22, 2021.

“How many of you is this your first time back?” McIlrath asked to a roar of approval.

Much of the night centered about bouncing back, coming together, and finding shared experience in live music. McIlrath often took time between songs to talk about how songs, including ones from Rise Against’s new album, Nowhere Generation, related to the collective pandemic lifestyle.

“I can’t remember how many times we performed on livestreams and over Zoom calls,” McIlrath said before the band launched into “Audience Of One.”

The 17-song, 90-minute set drew fairly evenly from the band’s catalog, with The Sufferer & the Witness getting five tracks. Rise Against is in a unique position to have to balance the addition of new material to a set that includes a fair amount of “must play” hits. Having been properly warmed up by openers Descendents and The Menzingers, the crowd showed no signs of any pandemic rust by jumping into a full-on circle pit from the first notes of the opening song “The Numbers.”

Descendants perform at The Masonic in San Francisco on Aug. 22, 2021.

From there, the band ripped through a trio of older songs including “Re-Education (Through Labor),” “Satellite” and “The Violence.” McIlrath, bassist Joe Principe, drummer Brandon Barnes and guitarist Zach Blair have developed into a reliably strong live rhythm together. McIlrath had a strong presence on stage, introducing songs in a way that fused aggression and heaviness with a positive and uplifting message.

He said new track “Broken Dreams, Inc.” was written about the events of the past year, as was much of his writing. The performance was well-paced, with enough banter but without slowing down. The singer related the anthemic “I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore” with his pandemic experience. Following older tracks “Chamber the Cartridge” and “Give It All,” McIlrath played a stellar acoustic “Swing Life Away” on his own before the band returned. The encore began with infectious favorites “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” and “Prayer of the Refugee.” McIlrath then spotted a fan named Alex to play guitar on “Survive.” The show closed out with the older “Worth Dying For” and “Savior.”

McIlrath credited Descendents as one of his primary influences for Rise Against. The band preceded the headliners and was sharp, faithfully chugging through high-octane punk rock. The songs were fast, heavy and tight, with the majority clocking in at 90 seconds or less. Descendents vocalist Milo Aukerman was a presence, mixing a give-no-cares mindset with quick, dry wit.

“This is the worst song I ever wrote, and now you’re listening to it,” Aukeman yelled at one point.

Openers The Menzingers also offered up some solid rock. The band mixed a modern pop-punk sensibility along with genres like classic rock. The Menzingers powered through “Everything Sux,” “I’m the One” and “Suburban Home.” Fans wasted no time starting a pit.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald. Follow photographer Onome Uyovbievbo at Twitter.com/byonome and Instagram.com/by.onme.