Will somebody turn out the light? The music’s over, and has been for quite sometime now.
I, like many others, travelled half way around the world to bear witness to the long awaited return of Rage Against the Machine at last year’s Coachella festival, fully expecting this performance to be a once in a lifetime event and the beginning of some kind of revolution. I had been inspired to travel at great lengths by the band’s guitar player, Tom Morello, who as the band’s spokesman had this to say prior to the event: “This is going to be a one off show, to deliver a final knockout blow to the Bush administration.” Well, if that performance and the band’s continued abuse of position is the best that music has got to offer in the form of hope and political attack, then we’re already f***ed! And I find that a sad, sad state of affairs to be in.
Having listened to Rage over the years, I was overjoyed to hear that they were re-uniting. I travelled to California expecting to find the festival venue full of Revolutionaries and political awareness, but instead it seemed as though the crowd was made up of rich kid trend setter/followers who had gone and bought a Che Guevarra T-shirt for a day out in the desert, and borrowed their dads’ Mercedes to get there. As for political awareness, the only thing I saw was a photo shoot for an ‘Impeach Bush’ group and a small stand about Vietnam vets. The kids organizing the photo shoot were being booed at by passers by and one year later, I’m still looking on the internet, trying to find the photos they took.
For a band with such a draw as Rage Against the Machine, I found all this to be a little odd. Sure I expected all the security checks to get in and out of the grounds, I could understand the lameness with regards to the ‘sheep herding’ tactics that were prevalent all over the festival, and the massive police presence which suppressed the whole vibe and feel of the event was no surprise, but what I couldn’t understand was how a band like Rage wasn’t using this opportunity to do more to enlighten people and actually accomplish what they had supposedly set out to do. Why hadn’t they insisted the event organizers give space to outlets offering information about important issues, issues exposing hypocrisies in the world, issues inviting people to participate in change, issues like 9/11 truth, issues that Rage have built a career out of over the years? I couldn’t understand it. It wouldn’t take a genius to look around the web for grassroots groups and organizations that would have been only too pleased to promote important ideas and offer support at this kind of event. With the kind of resources that a band like Rage has at there disposal, I fully expected to see a more direct attempt at action, but it wasn’t to be.
For most people, the first two days of the event were a battle to survive. The blistering heat was literally killing people and it was only in the cool evenings, when the blood in your head had stopped boiling, that you could try to fully embrace the music that was on offer. This changed on Sunday when you could actually smell revolution in the air. The police Chopper had kept most people awake throughout the previous night, and despite the already overwhelming police presence, the number of officers on duty had been increased and the security checks seemed more stringent. Still, there was a wild rumor circulating the campsite that the Big Brother eye that stood overlooking the stage was to be brought down during Rages performance. It was a brilliant idea of mine, but in the end, the planned destruction and carnage resulted in nothing more than some nice decoration using toilet rolls and police tape, and not of my own doing.
Manu Chau gave a soul inspiring performance that in many ways was the highlight of the festival. They did as much if not more than any other act for political awareness before Rage hit the stage.
All at once, the lights went out and the red star on a black flag appeared along with a group of V.I.P fans sat right on the stage. What the f***?
Anyway, Rage ran through their set, which covered most of their hits and all in all, I can’t say it was a bad performance. The sound for the first track or two was a little off, but they fixed that soon enough. Zack gave a small speech which the whole world seemed to be waiting for in the middle of Wake Up. He called for the Bush administration to be ‘Hung, tried, and shot’ which I thought was nice, but other than that he didn’t say anything to the crowd, which I thought was ridiculous. To wait seven years to see a man in his position say nothing with the compassion and hatred that he once had, (take his speech at Stockholm 93 for example) was a major, major disappointment. Soon Rage left the stage and the lights went out and that was the end of that.
We all got herded out of the festival via one exit ( the previous two nights had seen many exits available) only to be confronted by riot police toting rubber bullet guns. There was no call to use them, but it seemed that the police were way more prepared than Rage. The knockout blow to Bush never came. I don’t think they even had him on the ropes.
The sad conclusion is that despite this gig being a “one time only” concert, Rage had already signed up to three more concerts that we all received flyers for on the way out. And still one year later, they continue to announce further gigs throughout the world on an almost weekly basis at events sponsored by such corporations as Coca Cola, Clear Channel, and Ticketmaster, the sole distributors of Rage tickets. Depending on where you stand this is either the greatest (and cheapest) marketing comeback of a band ever or the biggest sell out and perfect example of hypocrisy to date by any group of musicians.
Despite the fact that Rage continue to sell out venues and festivals worldwide, offering nothing more to fans than a nostalgic trip down memory lane, whilst delivering no signs of hope or direction ( and at the same time taking in large amounts of money from our pockets and the pockets of corporate psychopaths), we the fans buy it up and give them the opportunity to do so. Why shouldn’t they keep it up? Apparently, we want this to happen
There are a lot of problems in this world, problems we all face yet are not all fully aware of. We find ourselves looking to other people for the answers. People from the past, people like Rage Against the Machine, and any number of other musical icons that are reappearing. But what is actually so different? They don’t seem to be using their power of choice. They have gone through the channels of Ticketmaster and their fraudulent and morally devoid comrades. Of course, they could have distributed tickets on a more grassroots basis, performed in more independent venues, and started the much needed conversations and actions to take the corporate and governmental f***ers and their terrifying injustices down.
But these bands are from a different era, an era that is proving to no longer be relevant. Rage were once warriors, but they are not the commanders of a rebellious army any more than the Spice Girls. Zack is no longer the voice for mobilizing an evolution of society or psyche. They did what they did, but their time has come and gone. It’s time we stopped reminiscing and looking to past icons for answers. We need to forge our own answers. Zack once said “if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem,” and I couldn’t agree more. So now I ask Zack, are you really still a part of the solution?
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