Setlist:

Bulls on Parade
Know Your Enemy
Down Rodeo
Bombtrack
Bullet in the Head
Mic Check
Vietnow
Hendrix
Ghost of Tom Joad
No Shelter
Maria
Freedom

Encore:
Killing in the Name

Review by: J. Moreno

The event started at 4:00 as far as Rage was concerned as they held a press conference; all of Rage was there, all 3 Beastie Boys & the lead singer for Bad Religion.�� Massive, massive media coverage on this event especially here in the east; this was the headlining story in every local TV station & from what I hear this went National as well & made it on to CNN.� Morello did something his good at; charming the press & getting his point out; the concert ain't about Mumia being guilty or not it's about him being given a fair trial; justice; if the opposition felt Mumia was guilty why not give him another trial anyway?.� Zack De La Rocha made a point that it was ironic that the Pope had just yesterday called for an end to the death penalty; & yet there were people outside the concert screaming for blood.�� Mumia death supporters claimed some victory due to what they said was 2,000 returned tickets but Zack argued that it was actually 567.� Neverthless by the time the show would start it was SOLD OUT again.�

We showed up 2 & a half� hours before the show & only a dozen people were in front of me by the gate; but the media; the media had set up camp in the parking lot & all kinds of TV stations from around neighboring states & MTV were already out & about interviewing people.� I got interviewed for some New Jersey station; so if u live there and saw a short dood in a Public Enemy shirt on TV that was me.� I had read both sides of the story so was able to give the interviewer, who was hoping I had no idea about the case, a nice mouthful about the media being one-sided, Rage's freedom of speech & that in these artists' eyes they were simply trying to save a man's life.� I wasn't the only one though; every single person that I saw get interviewed was well informed about the case & to my surprise all gave solid answers.� We went in at 6:00 & there had been no trouble at all save for peaceful "Free Mumia" demostrators, most of the hustle & bustle as usual was from the media.� Got front row floor seats again!�� right in the middle right in the front =D .� To begin the show; 2 Members of Chumbawamba came out as emcees; one guy wearing a skirt which elicited homophobic insults from the most sexually insecure boys in the crowd.� heh, but they get knocked down & then they get up again =D

It didn't take long before BLACK STAR; who happen to be my favorite Rap group of the moment; came on to a puzzled audience who mostly did not know who they were & that they would even be there.� As skilled as Mos Def & Talib Kweli are as MCs & as dope as their lyrics are; they just didn't have the juice & experience to ravel up this crowd live like I had seen Ice Cube do in FVT.� Most people just stood by & watched boringly.� When they asked who in the audience had the Black Star album I think I might've been the only one who yelled out.� Their set was mad short & even though I like them, the best they inspired me to do was bop my head a bit.� Morello says that Black Sabbath, Ozomatli & the Indigo Girls had also asked to perform but for some reasons they weren't able to; Ozomatli woud have been a stronger opening act. Nevertheless good to see Rage still keeping an eye on hard to find quality Rappers.

Old Skoolers BAD� RELIGION took the longest to set up & played a long set.� Had never seen them before, they were decent; felt more like Hard Rock with just a touch of punk, they had a surprising amount of fans in the audience, me the only song I knew was the one they closed with; "21st Century Digital Boy".�

Member of the InvisibL Skratch PikLz MIX MASTER MIKE opened up with some turntablist stylings & skratches before the rest of the BEASTIE BOYS came out. They were good as usual, but they didn't seem to be as energetic as the last time I'd seen them.� They opened with their ode to Mixmaster Mike & then kicked into "Body Movin'" & went thru a long set that consisted of almost 14 songs from all their albums.� The pit started kicking & kids started raining as soon as they came on.� MCA stopped 2 times to give a speech about why they were doing this and all the reasons they thought the case was relevant enough to support.� They said they did it for the sake of "justice" & wanted everyone to understand that they were not supporting cop-killers but justice.� they did a lot of their awesome� instrumental jammies and as usual took turns rapping to beats & played intruments equally. They put a great live show as they always do & I was glad to check them out.

While they were setting up the stage for Rage; Chumbawamba brought out a "friend" of Mumia [Pam Africa]; some lady who gave a talk about why we should all support Mumia.� A lot of people cheered; but I wonder how many of them knew the deal.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE didn't take long to set up & come out.� I was dissapointed that they didn't open with NWA's "Fuck Tha Police" as they did in the lesser hyped concert for Mumia back in '95; but to do that would have made them look like immature amateurs in the eyes of the media.� They simply said "Good evening we're Rage Against the Machine" and then the beginning snare hit of "Bulls On Parade" kicked off their set.� Rage was once again fucken awesome;� the intensity of always & a noticeably better friendlier interaction between the band members on stage.� They played three new jammies; "Mic Check", "Hendrix" & what I think was "Maria".�� In my opinion "Mic Check" was the phattest new song.� It was a funk driven Hip-Hop/Rock with funky wah wah pedals as always & crazy atmospheric echoing swooshing from the guitars as well; felt eerie & different while still sounding like a Rage track.� The rhythm section is mad tight on this one; & it feels like a Rap song while the guitars still slash on; maybe the most Hip-Hopenning song Rage has ever made; it sounded like what Limp Bizkit wish they could sound like.� On this song it wasn't a matter of Zack happening to rap on it; ZAck was spitting out crazy dope flows!!!; he was spitting out super fast rhymes like Canibus or some other amazing MC!� The best rapping I have ever seen him do; it's no longer a question of is Zack an MC; but how amazing an MC he's become.��� "Hendrix" was the next best one; started out with fucked up sounding effects that are to hard to even describe, kind of� like a machine gun & bleeps & other effects mixed in.� The lyrics & music all kick in on the first beat & Zack raps on again; a lot of crunching riffs; still recognizable as a Rage track. The next new song is what I think might be "Maria"; starts of with siren-like sounding riffs & is got more Riffage than the previous 2 songs, Zack does the talking/singing thing on this one instead of Rapping.� Zack paused to thank everyone who had attended for "not being intimidated by the media" & coming to the show; then they kicked in with "No Shelter"; only the 2nd time they performed that song live, Simmering T is awesome on that electronica sounding bass line he does.�

Rage left the stage & Public Enemy's CHUCK D & PROFFESOR GRIFF came out to give what was by far the best speech of the night;

"This ain't over yet!"; Chuck's boomin' authoritative voice delivered his message loud & clear & everyone felt it; "Fear is in the air," he said. "They thought it would be a wild scene here in New Jersey, but the only wild scene is up here [onstage], because music is a more powerful communicator...There ain't no fucking color line; don't fall for that," he told the predominantly white audience. "Right is right and wrong is wrong! Free Mumia, and also free your mind; use your independent thought."�

Rage then proceeded to come out for the encore & finished off with "Killing in the Name" on which Chuck D joined them towards the end for the "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" chant.� Chuck's voice combined with Zack's, really got the place going; awesome awesome performance of the song; Zack uncorked again.��� I've joked in the past that Public Enemy is Rage's daddy but it really seemed like it; as the last song ended Tom, Zack & Chuck D embraced like comrades in arms and walked off the stage together.� Public Enemy had been under fire back in the late 80s/early 90s for speaking their beliefs; just as Rage was now.

All in all it was one of the best shows of the 8 times I've seen them & it was worth the hype that it's been getting; the acts spoke with their music more than anything else & save for minor shit the crowd was good and so were the cops.�

The controversy is not over though; "A bill introduced in the New Jersey legislature Monday would give families of slain cops the state's proceeds from tonight's Rage Against the Machine concert".� This shit� just keeps on going; either way; Rage have achieved the epitome of what they had always hoped for; standing up for their beliefs & making enough noise to be heard.� This is so far their greatest victory. RATM is existentialism!