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Rage Against the Machine, a rap metal band known for its revolutionary politics, will perform opposite the Republican National Convention on Sept. 3 at the Target Center in Minneapolis and members of the band will appear at a Labor Day union rally in St. Paul. The last time the band played opposite a convention was during the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000. And that didn’t go so well.
Video: See the band’s performance and the crowds fleeing police at the end.
The group had planned to play a concert to protest America’s two-party political system, but the city told them they had to play a small venue far from the convention. The band sued and won a place near the convention.
In anticipation of the show, the Los Angeles Police Department beefed up security around the event, and the actions of several unruly audience members soon escalated into a riot where police allegedly attacked reporters, lawful audience members and passersby.
RATM rapper Zack de la Rocha said after the show: "I don’t care what fucking television stations said, [that] the violence was caused by the people at the concert; those motherfuckers unloaded on this crowd. And I think it’s ridiculous considering, you know, none of us had rubber bullets, none of us had M16s, none of us had billy clubs, none of us had face shields."
RATM is known for its activism both on and off the stage. Band members have been prominent supporters of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), an indigenous Mayan social movement in southern Mexico. Guitarist Tom Morello was arrested at a textile workers’ union protest in the early 1990s against clothing manufacturer Guess?, and the band subsequently bought billboards reading, "Rage Against Sweatshops: We Don’t Wear Guess? – A Message from Rage Against the Machine and UNITE (Union of Needletrades Industrial and Textile Employees)."
Morello will continue his labor activism by performing at the Take Back Labor Day Festival within earshot of the convention on Sept. 1. Also scheduled to attend are British folk/punk artist Billy Bragg, Grammy-winning American rapper Lupe Fiasco, alt-country artist Steve Earle, and actor and hip hop artist Mos Def. The protest is hosted by the Service Employees International Union.
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6 Comments »
Comment posted August 12, 2008 @ 9:55 am
Looking up to a rock n’ roll band as some sort of guiding light is as ridiculous as it gets. Doing so is akin to worshipping at the feet of Mick Jagger – although his longevity may grant him a bit more credibility than RATM. Good lord, grow up people. RATM plays these kinds of events with political implications because those events are a niche – a little slot which allows them to remain in front of the public eye and generates sales of their music – if you care to call it that.
Comment posted August 12, 2008 @ 4:55 am
Looking up to a rock n' roll band as some sort of guiding light is as ridiculous as it gets. Doing so is akin to worshipping at the feet of Mick Jagger – although his longevity may grant him a bit more credibility than RATM. Good lord, grow up people. RATM plays these kinds of events with political implications because those events are a niche – a little slot which allows them to remain in front of the public eye and generates sales of their music – if you care to call it that.
Comment posted August 23, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
And your little slot is that which sees the machine of the corporate instead of the machine of the political. In either case unsupported bullshit is just that, and you do what the people who taught RATM told ya.
Comment posted August 28, 2008 @ 11:03 pm
I don't think people look to them as a guiding light, but i would guess that some people are angry and in some way they find an outlet with rage's music. I being a rage fan have some pent up angst, not necessarily what Rage is angry about, but i do find solace in the fact that they are unsettled about things and can emote that in songs. If anything their anti-establishment feeling is what draws fans and the fact that they are popular may be a sign of a disgruntled generation. I think “anger is a gift.” What's the point of music anyway you pompous ass?
Comment posted August 28, 2008 @ 11:03 pm
I don't think people look to them as a guiding light, but i would guess that some people are angry and in some way they find an outlet with rage's music. I being a rage fan have some pent up angst, not necessarily what Rage is angry about, but i do find solace in the fact that they are unsettled about things and can emote that in songs. If anything their anti-establishment feeling is what draws fans and the fact that they are popular may be a sign of a disgruntled generation. I think “anger is a gift.” What's the point of music anyway you pompous ass?
Comment posted August 28, 2008 @ 11:04 pm
I don't think people look to them as a guiding light, but i would guess that some people are angry and in some way they find an outlet with rage's music. I being a rage fan have some pent up angst, not necessarily what Rage is angry about, but i do find solace in the fact that they are unsettled about things and can emote that in songs. If anything their anti-establishment feeling is what draws fans and the fact that they are popular may be a sign of a disgruntled generation. I think “anger is a gift.” What's the point of music anyway you pompous ass?
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