Rage Against The Machine
*Live At Finsbury Park*
(Eagle Rock Entertainment)
Think about all the political and social causes Rage Against The Machine might sonically support today through its infectious rap-rock blend: Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, opposing the Keystone Pipeline, shedding light on the migrant crisis in Europe, to name a few. A motherload of topics, to be sure, yet the band last released an album in 2000.
To get a sense of how the band could captivate a live audience and how it could mobilize the public for action, one only has to check out this five-year-old concert, just released on DVD and Blu-Ray. The genesis of the show occurred in late 2009, when a social media campaign was launched by two UK residents to make the 17-year-old song “Killing In The Name” the No. 1 song on the UK singles chart during Christmas-time, dethroning the X-Factor winner in the process. Well it happened, and although not exactly a ground-breaking social cause, the movement did show how music fans could pull off a grassroots campaign and stick it to the corporate music man. Singer and frontman Zack de la Rocha promised the band would perform a free concert to celebrate, which was set in London on June 6, 2010.
“Testify” opens the show, with 80,000 spectators bouncing in rhythm to De la Rocha’s own jumping. Multiple cameras quick-cut from the band to the crowd, which continues to bounce as if operating with a hive mentality. The video production and sound are sharp.
Throughout the hour-plus concert, De la Rocha’s vocals come through loud and clear, overpowering the drums, bass and guitarist Tom Morello’s riffing. It’s only when De La Rocha doesn’t sing does one clearly hear the mix of bass, drums and rhythm guitar. Morello takes the spotlight on solos for “People Of The Sun” and “Bulls On Parade,” standing on a monitor to demonstrate his flamboyant scratch-tastic style.
But the frontman was the star of the band, and he takes time early between songs to get in his rant against the U.S. and Israeli government for their roles in the West Bank blockade. And later, after pausing the concert to announce all proceeds would be donated to charity, De laRocha invokes a litany of punk band names to introduce a gritty cover of The Clash’s “White Riot.”
“Guerrilla Radio,” delivered a little slower paced than on the album recording, still seems just as urgent today as it did in 2000. And of course the song that started it all--“Killing In The Name”--closes the concert. De la Rocha lets the crowd sing the lyrics “Now you do what they told ya” while he sings in call-and-response style: “Now you’re under control.” The crowd certainly is under the band’s control, and I have to believe the band wishes it still had that pop culture influence today.
Set list:
1) Testify
2) Bombtrack
3) People Of The Sun
4) Know Your Enemy
5) Bulls On Parade
6) Township Rebellion
7) Bullet In The Head
8) White Riot
9) Guerrilla Radio
10) Sleep Now In The Fire
11) Freedom
12) Killing In The Name
No comments:
Post a Comment