Rage Against the Machine
Live @ Modena, 14/06/08

Before the whole hullabaloo of the summer festivals begins, those that make Italy seem like a wonderland where everyone wants to perform, it is worth remembering the big concert of one of the most powerful funk metal rock bands. The aficionados, those who shout "Hasta la Victoria siempre," were there since morning, after long preparatory sessions that began last March when the news spread that Morello and associates were coming to Italy. Here they finally are. Sirens and Guantanamo, a demonstration that the band is always in the know.

Dressed in the infamously known orange jumpsuits, black hoods over their heads like prisoners, Rage Against The Machine plunge the knife into one of Bush's many wounds, appearing on stage at precisely 10 PM on Saturday, June 14th, in front of the infernal mob that fills the Braglia Stadium in Modena from the early afternoon. The only date in our country, Zack de la Rocha and the ex-Harvard guitarist Tom Morello were eagerly awaited by fans, as tough and pure as they are, who make a banner and a boast of resistance—physical, psychological, against the system, against adversity. Five minutes standing still, rigid, arms crossed, legs tense, a defiant attitude: fierce with their eyes fixed on the crowd that cheers them below, a river of moshing and screaming people, absolute chaos and out of control, arms and mouths in unison in a single roar.

"Testify" starts, the unmistakable voice slices through the air, a lament we have come to know well, the red star behind them bounces on the monitors: once more and always, rock politic, protest, and struggle. Indomitable, they launch into "Bulls On Parade," while the human chain feeds, many break the barrier to invade the field, and a small fire rises in the middle of the grass. Now the choruses are loud, the anthem is that of the Communist International, the spirit has remained intact over time. Committed, yes, even when tempted by capitalist sirens, Rage Against The Machine are not at all content with the world as it has become, and even if in the U.S. now there is a Democratic wind, different, bringing hope, they know there will always be a need for a voice "against." "Bullet in the Head" is a bullet fired from Morello's guitar, the drums roar and then lower in tone, all muscle, Tim Commerford's tattoos glinting under the lights, the black armor painted on his shoulders and chest arousing the envy of the stands. The shockwave of the crowd during "Killing in the Name" overwhelms those in the front and raises goosebumps on those in the curves, "Sleep Now In The Fire" raises the sound barrier by ten decibels.

Patience for that hour of waiting, patience if "Calm like a Bomb" is a fake encore and there will be no second coming. How many encores do you need? The hour and a half is stretched to the extreme.

Going home exhausted. I don't even consider myself a fanatic, but an interested observer of such a powerful phenomenon. Live, they perform like few others, they know it and at the end, they collectively thank their people.