I knew I had to get tix when I heard that Rage was coming to Oakland...� To
say that they have a powerful stage presence would be an insulting
understatement.� We got to the arena at about 8...� The first opening band,
Dilated Peoples was OK, but not the kind of opener I would have chosen for
Rage.� They were political, but they didn't have the confidence to assert
their views.� People kept throwing bottles at them, and they would catch them
and chuck 'em right back, so that was cool.� Then they left, the lights came
on, people began moshing, and girls started flashing their tits, which got
old pretty quickly.� The arena began to fill with smoke from spliffs and
cigarettes, and Gang Star came on.� They weren't much to speak of either, but
they had a good DJ.� When the fourth rapper came out, I thought "this is
overkill".� And the last guy's mic wasn't working for half of his
performance.� He kept swinging around this fake plastic mace that I saw in a
halloween store a week prior.� It seemed pretty cheesy, and I was hoping
they'd leave soon.
Finally, they left and the stage crew began setting up those guitars and
basses I've come to know and love.� I saw Tom's "Arm the Homeless" guitar,
and his black telecaster, and I got a picture of his pedalboard for future
reference.� When they rolled down the "Battle of Oakland" banner, the crowd
went nuts.� It was pretty awesome, but they raised it up too high and it was
hard to see during the show.� Finally, the lights went off, the lighters lit
up, the shirts came off, and the band came out.� They opened with Testify,
and it was so fierce I could have gone home happy after that one song.� They
played:
Testify
Guerilla Radio
People of the Sun
Calm Like a Bomb
Bullet in The Head
Bombtrack
Sleep Now in the Fire
Born of A Broken Man
Know Your Enemy (the intro is so FUNKY)
No Shelter
War Within A Breath
Then they went offstage and I didn't realize until after the concert that
this was the end of their set.� It seemed so short. Then they came back on
and played Bulls on Parade, Freedom, and finished it off with Killing in the
Name Of.�� In the last chorus of "Killing..." they flipped on the lights when
everyone was chanting "Fuck you..."� and EVERYONE had their fingers up.� It
was great. I've never moved so mush in my life, or had so much fun.� If rage
comes by your town, BUY TICKETS.
(In the middle of their set, my friend went to the front of the pit to take
pictures of Zack.� The security pigs at the front saw him and tried to put up
their hands so he couldn't take pictures, cuz cameras weren't allowed.� Zack
saw what was going on, and told them to leave, then he got down on one knee,
put the mic aside, grinned and told my friend to "take the pictures".� Wow.�
Can't wait to see those developed!)