Music

Rage Against The Machine play first hometown show in 10 years

by Ciaran Thompson

This past Friday Rage Against The Machine played a gig in their hometown of Los Angeles for the first time in ten years in support of organizations trying to overturn the controversial SB1070 immigration law in Arizona. The law enables local authorities to check a person whom they think might be an illegal immigrant and make an arrest for not carrying ID papers if they have “reasonable suspicion.”

The gig at the Palladium in Hollywood acted as a fundraiser for The Sound Strike fund, helping groups such as PUENTE Arizona and The Florence Project fight SB1070. Singer Zach De La Rocha and the rest of Rage Against The Machine have boycotted playing shows in Arizona and have urged other musicians to do the same until the law is scrapped.

Apparently the band walked on stage to the sound of air raid sirens and opened with the track “Testify” off their third album The Battle of Los Angeles. They also played several other politically charged songs such as “People of the Sun,” “Bulls on Parade,” “Wake Up” and “Killing in the Name,” which they finished the set with.

Near the end of the concert De La Rocha delivered a statement regarding their cause. “[SB-1070] is not only a racist law but it’s a divisive law,” he yelled. “It’s an insult. We need to wake up and defend our brothers and sisters!” [Spin]