On July 23rd the mighty middle-finger to-the-establishment collective known as Rage Against the Machine delivered a volcanic set at their first Los Angeles show in ten years, at the Hollywood Palladium. The show’s purpose was to raise funds for Arizona organizations fighting the state’s new immigration law SB-1070. The benefiting organizations include community organizing group Puente, Arizona, as well the Florence Project, providing legal counsel and social services to immigrant communities. By the end of the night, the show raised consciousness of the issue, upward of $300,000, and a few thousand clenched fists.
The evening kicked off with songs of Hispanic pride from Mexican folk act, Los Jornaleros Del Norte, which was followed up with a doomed set by Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. His folk-meets-punk sound wasn’t flying with this crowd, getting more boos than cheers. To be fair, the band didn’t sound terrible. It seemed more like it was just an odd pairing. One thing was certain: people were here to see Rage.
A short while later, the legendary band stepped onto the stage to deliver one of the most inspired sets of their career. The lights dimmed, and there was the sound of an alarm. A contagious wave of excitement came over the crowd and those on the floor manically worked their way to the front of the stage. A backdrop with a glowing red star slowly arose from behind the stage. The alarm continued to ring out to the far ends of the old concert hall, as a call to action, as a call to rock. Somehow popping up out of nowhere amidst the camera flashes, front man Zack De La Rocha stood center stage to greet the audience. The ghostly, meandering screech of Tom Morello’s guitar and the militant rat-a-tat-tat of Brad Wilk’s drumming kicked things off and moments later, Tim Commerford’s thundering bass entered the mix. The sound built in intensity and complete pandemonium was unleashed as the band launched into “Testify”.
Considering that Rage hasn’t been playing gigs on a regular basis, the band’s chemistry was surprisingly remarkable, and while they were very serious about the cause at hand, they also seemed to be having a lot of fun. Having had their differences, it was great seeing their genuine support for one another. Zack could be caught taking second glances at Tom’s Zeppelin-in-space solos, with a big grin that read as if it were saying, “that’s right, that’s my guitar player”. Brad and Tim, always locked in and focused on their crafts, never faltered, giving Zack’s funky rhymes some extra bite, and Tom’s guitar heroics set the precedence to soar to astronomical proportions.
Half of the band’s set relied on material from their self titled first album. A few tracks from both Evil Empire and The Battle of Los Angeles were played, while Renegades went unrepresented. The band didn’t have new songs for this inspired homecoming, but they did deliver a wrecking ball take of The Clash’s “White Riot” that would make the late Joe Strummer proud.
Songs of empowerment were plenty: there was “Bombtrack”, “People of the Sun”, and “Township Rebellion”. The latter, originally written about Apartheid in South Africa, took on new meaning in light of the struggles facing Arizona’s Hispanic population. This song evoked passion so intense that when it came to the climax, Tom rocked and head banged harder than he might have ever had.
The band’s greatest finger-pointer songs also took on new meaning: “Know Your Enemy” and “Bulls on Parade” now targeted the lawmakers behind SB-1070. While the show was one giant mosh-pit from start to finish, the sludgy metal-funk of “Bullet in the Head” and “Calm like a Bomb” gave birth to some crowd surfing as well.
“Guerilla Radio”, with its Che Guevara poetics put to rock and rhyme, served as the band’s State of the Union address: The enemy has been exposed; this is a call to action!
“It has to start somewhere
It has to start sometime
What better place than here
What better time than now?!”
“Sleep Now in the Fire” was a blast of straight-ahead hard rock, jazz, and even featured an extended jam that took a short trip into psychedelia. Zack’s cackling voice and Tom’s classic riff rode on top of the jazzy rhythms laid down by Brad and Tim. The midsection gave way to a hypnotic drum and bass bed for panicky vocals and some mad scientist guitar work.
The band closed out the set with a heavy metal stomp of “Wake Up”, in which Zack defended Arizona’s immigrant population in a mid-song speech. He counteracted arguments in support of SB-1070 by elaborating on the effects of globalism. While many were in attendance to see Rage’s first hometown gig in a decade, the audience seemed to be in solidarity with the front man, confirmed by the sea of raised fists shouting “Si, se puede!”
The band returned for an encore, starting with a pummeling version of “Freedom”. Following the song, the band brought out a handful of voices from the movement that the event was funding. Organizer Sandra Castro was handed the microphone to shout a fist-pumping chant against SB-1070 that was full of fire. The microphone was then handed back to Zack, who dedicated “Killing in the Name” to Joe Arpaio, the Arizona Sherriff whose regular appearances on national news programs has made him one of the most identifiable supporters of SB-1070. The New York Times has called him “America’s Worst Sherriff” and his practices have been criticized by Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union. The band literally brought it home, with a few thousand fans shouting – “FUCK YOU I WON’T DO WHAT YOU TOLD ME"
As angry as the band’s words and music sound, in reality it’s just that, and the real message they seemed to push for was peace and understanding over war and ignorance. Patrol cars awaited around the corner as the audience filtered out onto the boulevard, but the fears of riots never materialized.
Setlist
Testify, Bombtrack, People Of The Sun, Know Your Enemy, Bulls On Parade, Township Rebellion, White Riot (The Clash cover), Bullet In The Head, Calm Like A Bomb, Guerilla Radio, Sleep Now In The Fire, Wake Up, ENCORE: Freedom, Killing In The Name
Concert poster by Ernesto Yerena
