These guys are probably the best live act I've ever seen. Got a chance to see them in '99(pouring rain of Alpine Valley, East Troy, Wisconsin), then at this very concert during Coachella of '07. Their first concert back together in seven years, so once I heard they were playing this fest, it was all I needed to hear for getting tickets. I sat in the second row all damn day, over 100 degrees in the middle of the fucking desert. Didn't piss, didn't eat, didn't move, just to get up close and see these guys perform at the end of the day. Security was forced to give us free water in the first couple rows and spray us with a hose occasionally during the day because it was such a health issue with no one leaving their spots.
Two and a half hours before they even came on the crowd was ass to elbows, swaying back and forth. It was insane, the back of the crowd would push forward, then the front would push back, time after time for hours(picture a massive polo field with people crammed like sardines, Coachella is no small event and this was the biggest crowd ever). A girl we were with at the time was being crushed up against the front railing and came away with broken ribs. It was so cramped, grown men were calling to get dragged out of the crowd into a fenced-off catwalk running down the center of the crowd for security to pull people into. A girl next to me, probably 16 years old and a whole four and a half feet tall, was being buried by everyone around her. She started choking, saying "I can't breathe", so I told her to get the fuck out, which she replied, "no way" - dedication. I could see Paris Hilton sitting comfortably backstage, it was disgusting.
Once Rage jumped into their set, it was like a bomb went off...
Here's footage from that exact moment...
Rage fills you with exactly that. They make you pump your fist, jump in the air, and throw up a middle finger to any authoritative figure, big or small. They're doing what every great rebel has done throughout history, stirred the pot, told you to wake the fuck up. The crowds at their concerts are a sight to see once Rage hits the stage and lets loose, tens of thousands of pissed off-pissed up fans, going nuts.
You might not like them or their music, but unless you're a square following orders and slaving for the system that bends you over on a daily basis, you better like their message.
....the war is right outside your door.
2 years ago
"With the D the E the F the I the A the N the C the E.......What? The land of the free? Whoever told you that is your enemy!"
ReplyDeleterage are kids fron irvine california, total and complete suburbia. i had a client that was a teacher and she said a couple of her students were in a band i might like....do i have a certain look or attitude? well i saw them at a little show and then a year later, i think it was lolapolooza 2 and santa fe damn, they fuckin destroyed it. i was on a hillside under some trees watching over 100,000 kids bouncing up and down to `killing in the name of`..... still gives me goose bumps. sweet bird of youth.....
ReplyDeleteI was at that gig too! Only reason I went was to check em' out. saw them alot in the 90's. First time I saw they were opening up for "Porno For Pyros" at castaic lake.I had never heard of them and they didn't have an album yet. I was blown away. couldn't see how "Pornos" was gonna follow them!
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