By Jamie Dull<\/p>\n
Prophets of Rage debuted their new project to the Chicagoland region this past Saturday\u00a0night with an explosive set covering material from Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill,\u00a0Public Enemy, and even a cut from the legendary Beastie Boys and MC5. Their show at\u00a0Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Tinley Park, IL was explosive, energetic, intense, and\u00a0downright fun.<\/p>\n
As a long time RATM fan this show was exciting for me. I grew up in the height of the\u00a0late 90\u2019s. I was 13 years old in 1998 meaning that I just missed the Grunge era explosion. It was\u00a0around 1996 and 1997 that I started to become interested in what was then considered modern\u00a0rock, but I had just missed the height of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Phish, Soundgarden, etc.\u00a0Instead I was getting KoRn, Rob Zombie (not White Zombie), Britney Spears, Limp Bizkit, and\u00a0of course the ever so popular Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Not to speak negatively towards any\u00a0of those bands, (I still love KoRn and Rob Zombie), but you can see why RATM fit really well\u00a0into my catalogue of music back then. I was an angsty teen with a lot of, well, rage growing up.\u00a0So naturally I fell in love with RATM.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to today. I had never seen any of these musicians perform live so I felt as if I\u00a0was living out a childhood dream. AWOLNATION opened up the night with set full of high\u00a0energy. It was easy to tell that these guys are professionals and do this for a living. They worked\u00a0as hard as they could to get the crowd fired up. The most surprising and satisfying performance\u00a0from the band came from their drummer Isaac Carpenter. He seemed to combine the the styles of\u00a0multiple killer drummers into his playing. I saw a bit of Travis Barker in his performance, but\u00a0could also see his influence from bands like Led Zeppelin, System of a Down and Motorhead. I\u00a0don\u2019t know if Isaac actually likes those bands or not, but his playing surely resembles it.\u00a0AWOLNATION did a great job opening up what turned out to be a crazy, high energy show.<\/p>\n
Then Prophets of Rage took the stage. DJ Lord started out their set with a huge mashup\u00a0of awesome covers. He was trying to get the crowd riled up and did just that. I think I heard\u00a0everything from Queen\/David Bowie to The White Stripes, Aerosmith, and even \u201cEye of the\u00a0Tiger\u201d. The opening DJ set was fun and high energy, and DJ Lord at one point started\u00a0\u201cshredding\u201d. I don\u2019t exactly know how to explain how a DJ can \u201cshred\u201d like a guitar player, but\u00a0he did it.<\/p>\n
Soon after, Tom Morello, Chuck D, BReal,\u00a0Brad Wilk, and Tim Commerford walked\u00a0out to the stage. I wasn\u2019t too sure what to expect. I knew what I was getting into but wasn\u2019t quite\u00a0sure how they were going to pull off RATM songs without legendary frontman Zack De La\u00a0Rocha. Sure enough, though, Chuck D (Public Enemy) and BReal\u00a0(Cypress Hill) came out\u00a0swingin\u2019. The two clearly had done their homework. They passed different lines of verses and\u00a0choruses back to each other. At times, BReal\u00a0would take over a verse, and Chuck D would\u00a0double him, which worked out very well. The two of them kept the crowd engaged and pumped\u00a0up. Needless to say they very much so \u201cpulled it off\u201d by absolutely crushing famous RATM\u00a0songs like \u2018Killing in the Name\u2019, \u2018Guerilla Radio\u2019, and \u201cBulls on Parade\u201d. One thing that was\u00a0important to me was hearing the vocal lines performed as much like the originals as possible.\u00a0They did exactly that. They kept the integrity of the parts in tact while putting their own flavor\u00a0into the songs. At times I was in awe with how cool it was to hear BReal\u00a0ripping on RATM\u00a0tunes.<\/p>\n
I was also excited to see how Brad, Tim and Tom would play Cypress Hill and Public\u00a0Enemy songs. And, well, they nailed them. \u201c(Rock) Superstar\u201d was out of control! Occasionally\u00a0we would get a little Audioslave teaser too. At one point I heard the guitar solo from the song\u00a0\u201cLike a Stone\u201d, and heard the \u201cCochise\u201d riff in there somewhere. In the middle of the show Tom,\u00a0Tim, and Brad left the stage and gave Chuck D, DJ Lord, and BReal\u00a0a chance to perform a\u00a0medley of hits including \u201cInsane in the Brain\u201d. The combination of these songs all in one set was\u00a0so damn entertaining. Towards the end of the show they busted out a cover of \u201cNo Sleep til\u00a0Brooklyn\u201d by The Beastie Boys that got the entire venue going wild.<\/p>\n
This show was special for multiple reasons. Both Tom Morello and Brad Wilk grew up in\u00a0the Chicagoland region. According to Morello, he had moved to California from the Chicagoland\u00a0area 30 years and one day prior to the show. To share the stage with some of his heroes and best\u00a0friends must have been extremely satisfying. To tie it all together, Tim McIlrath, frontman of\u00a0Chicago hometown punk rockers Rise Against joined the band on stage near the end of the show\u00a0for lively cover of MC5\u2019s \u201cKick Out the Jams\u201d. The energy was high, and the crowd was higher.<\/p>\n
Finally, the overall message of the tour spoke loudly and clearly. \u201cMAKE AMERICAN\u00a0RAGE AGAIN\u201d. Their merch, stage setup, etc clearly specified for whom NOT TO VOTE this\u00a0year. Their red hats with their slogan in white lettering across the top helped explain that\u00a0message loudly and clearly. The presidential candidate in question (who is so despicable that he\u00a0does not deserve the attention and or mention in this article) was made very obvious. The state of\u00a0unrest and dissolution in our country has become the fuel for Prophets of Rage, and I must say\u00a0that it is very inspiring to see these guys continue to use their voice for a positive purpose. On the\u00a0surface it is easy to think that Cypress Hill and Public Enemy songs bring out a message of hate\u00a0or disruption, but the context makes all the difference. This show had exactly the opposite\u00a0message. Through the music of Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill and Public Enemy, they\u00a0shouted their message of love, peace, and hope very loudly. At the end of the day Prophets of Rage are sharing the same message of peace and love that so many others have shared in the\u00a0past. The Grateful Dead, Phish, Bruce Springsteen, etc. It\u2019s all the same, with different content.<\/p>\n
In one way or another they\u2019re screaming for justice and equality. Prophets of Rage are bringing\u00a0people from different backgrounds, nationalities, races, etc together in solidarity for the purpose\u00a0of peace and tranquility, and they\u2019re doing it in the most badass\u00a0way. Make America Rage\u00a0Again. Count me in.<\/p>\n
For more on Prophets of Rage, including the current tour, latest album and members, click here<\/a><\/p>\n For more on AWOLNATION, including the current tour, latest album and members, click here<\/a><\/p>\n For photos from the show featuring Prophets of Rage, click here<\/a><\/p>\n