The self-sabotage of the Rage Against The Machine reunion is not just a missed opportunity: it's one of the most significant wastes in music history, especially at a time when the band's voice is crucial. Enter Tom Morello's solo endeavor: a one-man revolution bringing those iconic songs' message to the masses worldwide.
Just days after turning 60, Morello, clad in Guevarist fatigues, took center stage with a rock band for the first time in his career. Fans of Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, or Prophets Of Rage found familiar territory: this is heavy, funky, and angry music. This isn't social consciousness for the faint-hearted; this is punk-rock guerrilla activism.
Unfortunately, the first half of the set, despite its quality, struggled to engage the audience. The Accor Arena was still filling up, and many fans near the crash barrier were unfamiliar with the unreleased solo songs and some of his Nightwatchman tracks. A shame, because these tunes are potent.
However, halfway through the set, the crowd suddenly woke up. It took a cover of MC5's "Kick Out The Jams," dedicated to the recently departed Wayne Kramer, to ignite the energy. An instrumental RATM medley, featuring "Bombtrack," "Bulls On Parade," and "Guerrilla Radio," further heightened the excitement. A touching tribute to Chris Cornell on Audioslave's "Cochise" and a spine-tingling guitar solo followed, but the pièce de résistance was an extended version of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad," closer to the original than RATM's rendition. The guitar solos during this number were, in this reviewer's opinion, the show's highlight.
Then came the obligatory rendition of RATM's "Killing In The Name." No one but Rage can truly do this song justice, but this was as close as it gets. Morello wisely let the audience sing the song, avoiding any attempt to replicate Zack De La Rocha's urgency, venom, and unique cadence. It was a paradoxical sight: thousands jumping and chanting in unison, "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me," like a crowd under the spell of a charismatic leader.
The finale, with John Lennon's "Power To The People," chanted by the crowd alongside the band, was an appropriately uplifting and empowering end to the set. It summed up the band's raison d'être with a simple slogan and a powerful song.
This set was a stark reminder of the immense, precious, and necessary band we lost when RATM imploded once more. While the new Tom Morello songs will need time to etch themselves into the collective consciousness, they will never replicate the power, relevance, and immediacy of the classic Rage songs. But someone needs to carry that torch, and no one does it with more legitimacy than the Vigilante Nocturno, Soldier in the Army of Love, Tom Morello.
