I had been waiting a long time to see Rage, and now finally I had the
chance. With a huge crowd (easily 10,000, probably a lot more), I could tell
it was going to be an awesome night. It was tight because it was Rage's
first day on their U.S. tour, so I knew the energy was going to be to the
extreme.
The first band, or I should say rap group, was called The Dilated Peoples.
They were alright, the highlight was when Mix Master Mike (DJ from the
Beastie Boys) came out and DJ'd a song. That was about it. The next group
was Gang Starr. He was pretty good to my amazment. He got the crowd worked
up, and by the time he left the stage, everybody was ready for Rage.
Even with the music off and stage crew getting Rage prepared, there was
pushing and a mosh pit going. Everybody was psyched. They started hanging
this big poster which had the picture of their new album, but instead of
saying "The Battle Of Los Angeles", it said, "The Battle Of Oakland". It was
tight, and everybody was ready.
Soon after the lights turned off, and Rage came on stage. Zack De La Rocha
went to the mic and said, "Good Evening. Welcome to the Rage Against The
Machine concert. We're from Los Angeles, California." After he said that,
they went into "Testify". Oh man was the crowd ready! Everybody was off
their feet, jumping around, it was crazy. When it got to the third song
("People Of The Sun"), I barely had enough energy to sing! Everybody was
tired after they played that song, but still kept on going.
After they played "Sleep Now In The Fire", Zack started yelling at the guys
in the front row. He started saying, "Just because the girls want to be as
active as the guys, doesn't mean that gives you the right to grab areas
where you're not supposed to. If I see any of fucking guys grabbing the
girls again, I'm going to kick the fucking shit out of you and have the
security guards throw you out, understand?" I think all the guys got the
point, and they went into playing "Born Of A Broken Man".
Rage's last song was "War Within A Breath", and then went off stage. It took
five minutes of chanting, "Rage! Rage! Rage! Rage!" when they came back on
stage for their encore. They went into playing "Bulls On Parade", and then
started playing "Freedom". Both songs got the crowd re-energized and I got
hit in the head pretty hard with a elbow! I kept going and at the end of
"Freedom", they went right into "Killing In The Name". When it got to the
part, "Now you do what they told ya," he let the crowd sing along, and when
he started singing, "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me", Everybody had
their middle finger in the air! It was a sight to see. After, Zack said,
"Thank you for coming. We need to save Mumia Abu Jamal, stop this political
bullshit. We're Rage Against The Machine. Peace and goodnight."
It was definatley the best concert I have ever been to. I haven't ever seen
the kind of energy like these guys put on. I came out sweat drenched from
head to toe. I was very satisfied with the performance, and when they come
back to town, I'll be there!
Set List:
---------
1. Testify
2. Guerrilla Radio
3. People Of The Sun
4. Calm Like A Bomb
5. Bullet In The Head
6. Bombtrack
7. Sleep Now In The Fire
8. Born Of A Broken Man
9. Know Your Enemy
10. No Shelter
11. War Within A Breath
Encore:
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12. Bulls On Parade
13. Freedom
14. Killing In The Name