After a good deal of time waiting on trains I got to the Aragon on a very cold Spring night in very cold Spring rain just in time to waltz up to the FOH board and say my quick hellos to engineer Jon Dunleavy before the lights fell.

I’ve caught Rise Against more than a handful of times in the past. It seems with each successive show the crowd is larger and larger. The Aragon Ballroom is about as big as you go playing “clubs” in Chicago. I’m sure the guys in RA have fond memories of seeing shows there in their youth just as I do. However, it’s become especially hard to stomach the sonic character of that room in recent years. It can be a real doozy, and after the last show I attended there I swore off it unless absolutely necessary.

So there i stood, ready to listen to loose bass and harsh mids as the crowd went nuts all around me. The guys took the stage, starting the set with “Chamber the Cartridge” as Jon dialed everything in. Then, for over an hour and a half, I forgot I was in the Aragon Ballroom. Kudos, fellas.

Alice Cooper brings his signature style to the cover of this issue, in which editor Cory Lorentz posits that keeping up with the breakneck speed of new music releases might be overrated. He encourages readers to slow down long enough to let new music sink in before moving on to the next big thing.

View and download the full On Tour With Shure Winter 2008 Issue on shure.com.