Defiance of arbitrary authority sans painful consequences: Cops, Rage and Target Center

Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine (photo: Tony Nelson)

“We want tits! We want tits!” came the chant from the floor before last night’s Rage Against the Machine concert at the Target Center. While Funk the War and other groups gave out radical literature from tables in the halls, young men voiced their simpler demand inside, and a young woman in the stands obliged them, as well as the rows behind her and to her right. Like any rock crowd, the Rage audience can quickly become the Jerry Springer audience. Yet some of the band’s appeal lies in the promise that this equation works in reverse.

Anti-Flag at Rage Against the Machine show on Sept. 3 (photo: Tony Nelson)

It wasn’t long before the nearly sold-out crowd was cheering those about to hop the barrier to the floor, a bit of authority-bucking that swelled the mosh pits. And when a female fan flashed openers Anti-Flag, bassist Chris #2 stopped the music to quip that there was probably a Blink-182 show down the street for that kind of thing.

Rage played nearly a dozen songs without mentioning the war, the RNC, or the growing and alarming police presence outside the arena. The band let anti-fascist songs such as “Bulls on Parade” (which they performed through a megaphone the day before at the St. Paul Capitol Grounds) speak for themselves, with only visual and musical clues to their revolutionary socialist gestalt: They took the stage wearing the orange jumpsuits and black hoods of War on Terror detainees, raised a giant red star behind them, and played “The Internationale” (in Russian, no less) over the PA before their encore.

Yet the momentousness of the music swept up even this Rage skeptic, who believes that Communists (like Republicans) are better for the world not being in power. The sight and sound of a suddenly illuminated coliseum full of kids shouting, “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!” was undeniably powerful. At that moment, Rage were everything that makes them great: heavy as a planet, rallying as a P-Funk anthem, and deeply anti-authoritarian. The fact that frizzed-out singer Zack de la Rocha looked a little like Thing 1 or Thing 2 was just gravy.

Rage Against the Machine in orange jumpsuits during RNC (photo: Tony Nelson)

Zack de la Rocha and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine (photo: Tony Nelson)

The band more or less reunited to be here this week, a loud counter to the RNC’s week-long power grab on popular culture. (Which might explain why Rage is on somebody’s list: “Are you Rage Against the Machine?” the police asked them the day before at the capitol, according to members of Anti-Flag. “I don’t know,” was guitarist Tom Morello’s response.) Some speechifying at the concert was inevitable, and when it finally came, the words were carefully chosen.

“They’re concerned about a few people who broke a couple windows,” said de la Rocha to the audience. “They just broke two countries.”

Yet, perhaps sensing the Jerry Springer factor, de la Rocha closed with an appeal for coolness on the streets, in words that were part Gramsci, part MLK. “You know, in actuality, all these protests have been very peaceful, very in control. It’s really the police that have been out of control,” he said. “So when we leave here, let’s prove to them that we got more discipline than they do. Let’s show them that we’re willing to defend our rights here without any troubles, because they’re looking for shit tonight, they really are.”

Crowd at Rage Against the Machine Wednesday (photo: Tony Nelson)

Outside the Target Center, police in riot gear had entirely surrounded the building. An impromptu drum circle chanted, “Hey, Minneapolis, raise up your fists!” as the crowd poured out onto 1st Avenue and down the sidewalks, many stopping to take cell-phone pictures of the surreal spectacle of so much law enforcement. Before I could retrieve my bicycle across 2nd Avenue, an officer at the curb shouted to get to the other side of street, and pulled out his club. Though I smiled and kept going–”My bike is seriously right there,” I said–my hand was shaking when I unlocked it.

Peace sign outside (photo: Peter S. Scholtes)

Out in front of the building, a shirtless and visibly drunk Rage fan was yelling at a row of mounted police faced westward. The guy, who was eventually talked down by volunteer peace marshals for the week’s RNC protests, said something to the effect that he wanted only to have his own megaphone to disperse the crowd himself. (”You can arrest that guy,” joked Rage fans from the sidelines.)

After the police made the usual loudspeaker announcement to clear the streets in accordance with Minneapolis ordinance (adding a Robocop-esque “You have ten minutes to comply”), most people did, with a large crowd sticking around on the side to see what, if anything, would happen next. Soon the officers on horseback were gone, leaving behind only droppings for the stray downtown high heel to step in, and the remaining force eventually marched out as well, making way for traffic. Police arrested at least three people nearby, though I couldn’t confirm why (a mass arrest was going on a block away, though I didn’t know it at the time). When I tried to ask, one arresting officer said, “That’s not your concern,” while another threatened to arrest me if I didn’t leave.

In a way, for most fans, it was the perfect end to a Rage concert: defiance of arbitrary authority without painful consequences, just enough real danger to get the juices going. (”Fuck you, I will do what you tell me, but only after shouting at you for a while!”) But I was grateful that de la Rocha made his speech about not giving the police an excuse anyway. Though most people watched the street theater for what it was, police and protesters playing their roles, an excuse was all it would have taken to get ugly fast.