I first saw them at the MUMIA benefit and I was blown away. I was never a fan until that show. I went to that show for the Beastie Boys but was curious to see RAGE. I mean, I've enjoyed listening to their songs� on the radio and such but I never took the opportunity to purchase an album until I saw them live. It's hard to fully enjoy live shows if you don't know all the music but with RAGE, it didn't even matter. I was jumping up and down like a lunatic. Only because of how passionate and full of rage their performance was. Their energy and music made me want to leap into the floor from the first level. I immediately bought both their cd's and haven't stopped listening to them from then on. This concert made me realize how much balls these guys had, sticking to their beliefs even knowing that they would lose fans buy headlining that benefit. They may have lost a handful of fans who are worth losing anyway if they can't get what RAGE is about. But they did gain one hardcore fan who respects the ability to think for oneself and not compromising for the sake of commercial success whether I agree or disagree with their cause.

When I heard about Rage headlining KROCK'S Dysfunctional Family Picnic in Jones Beach, I immediately jumped to purchase tickets. I knew my next live experience with them would be even better after knowing their music and lyrics thoroughly. People were enthused to see Kid Rock and Live and such but when RAGE came on, the crowd went nuts. Their presence is so powerful that I can't imagine anyone not being moved during their live performance. Howard Stern was even there and that was his first time seeing them live and he couldn't stop talking about their performance on the show the Monday after. Vietnow and Know Your Enemy were the highlights. At the end of the set, the entire audience was in perfect sync with Zack when he was shouting out the end of Know Your Enemy- "ALL OF WHICH ARE AMERICAN DREAMS!!!!!!" And then he just dropped the mic and they all walked off the stage.

I had tickets already for TFC in Wisconsin but was absolutely astonished when they were added to the line up there only a few days before. And in my opinion, that was their best performance. I think when they play for a cause, their music seems to make all the more sense and their performance is so much more powerful. It's like every song was written for the cause. Zack's rage was mind blowing. He freaked me out with his intensity during Bullet in the Head and left me standing in awe. After their performance, some dude came running down the aisle and started screaming to his friend, with his arms stretched up in the air, "FEAR IS YOUR ONLY GOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!" That was quite amusing.

Then I followed them to Woodstock. I went with a friend who's another serious fan and he had seen them a handful of times over the course of 6 years and had never heard Wake Up live. All the way up to Woodstock, he kept complaining about that. So you could only imagine how thrilled we were when they played that. Seriously, they were the only reason why I went to Woodstock. I didn't think that their performance was as strong as the previous ones. I think with what happened with Limp Bizkit right before may have frightened them a bit. They seemed slightly hesitant. Although, the burning of the flag was outrageous. (Note: I think that was the last time we will see that flag. They didn't have it at Roseland.)

So yeah, I went to the Roseland show last Saturday. It was a thrill to see them in such a small space. I couldn't believe how close I was to them. I agree with J. though that their performance wasn't as up to par but their new stuff was so exciting to hear that it didn't matter. I had heard on the radio that Zack had food poisoning and was recovering that night. And then I found out last night through a KROCK employee who took a friend of mine to the show that she had gone back stage and Zack kept leaving the stage in between songs to drink lots of water due to a stomach flu. Thus being the reason for their short set. Nevertheless, the place was nuts. I got dragged like 20 feet from one area to another without my feet touching the floor. And I agree with that guy Christopher Wilkes about how good Born of a Broken Man was. But I don't know where he was at the end of the show because he claims the set closed with Killing In The Name Of when clearly Freedom did. And the funny thing is, judging from his pics, I was standing right where he was. I had the same exact view. I also have to mention the fact that I got sexually harassed by some fella who was behind me. This was the biggest disappointment for me. Because we were packed like sardines and I have a small frame to begin with, this asshole took the opportunity to feel me up under my shirt for gods sake and then some. But it wasn't just once. It happened a few more times and the final time, we were actually struggling. I almost smacked the shit out of him but I didn't want to deal with the hassle that I just bumped him really hard and then he finally left me alone. MUTHER FUCKER!! And this all happened during Freedom. How fucked up is that? There are some nasty RAGE fans. I didn't let it ruin my experience though. It just left me disturbed and angry so that's partly why I'm writing this to get it off my chest.