With the political season in full swing and the most exciting set of candidates to take the stump in years if not decades, what better time for the re-emergence of Rage Against The Machine than here and now at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. OK, OK, the band may have been on the festival circuit for the last year and a half, but if you give a moment to consider what RATM is all about then you might as well have called all those festival dates mere warm-up gigs to the main events that is this weeks performance at the DNC and next weeks performance at the RNC. They want you to push it, they want you to be active and above all, they want you to question all that the political parties are feeding you. But you know this already. Its your little brother theyre doing it for now, and its working.
Speculation aside, it can be said that RATM did what they do best on Wednesday afternoon in Denver and brought together 8,000 or so fans for a free show at the Denver Coliseum with a march following in support of an end to the war in Iraq. Unlike their performance in 2000, again at the DNC, things ended on a positive note. This didnt come without careful planning and demonstration by march organizers behind the scenes before the band took the stage. Backstage rehearsals with active duty service men and women (who would also be marching) proved helpful in demonstrating what should and should not happen in conducting a successful march in protest of such an important matter. As I said, things ended on a great note. The riot gear went unused for this event and conversations opened to a gaining of understanding between sides. Of course nothing is solved, but a point has been made and thats the start.
Also, I should say that the band was tight and the kids did what they do at a Rage show. They rage, they surf and they get aggression out. Wayne Kramer of MC5 was even there to Kick Out The Jams later in the set.
In all it was a great day in the political process.
