RATM Live at Voodoo

The crowd at Voodoo 2007 was waiting for the start of the Kings of Leon, when a local radio station DJ took the stage. He did the usual festival stuff; He asked the crowd if they were having a good time, if they liked the beer and booze local vendors were selling. Then he moved on to Rage. Paraphrasing, "These guys aren't playing every city in the US. Them coming here to New Orleans is a big fucking deal." And it was a BFD. One of the most controversial and amazing bands in the last 20 years brought their protest songs and anger to the Big Easy last night, and it was nothing short of spectacular.

Voodoo decided to place its two primary stages fairly close by and facing each other, so the stages alternated performances. Between 8pm and 9pm, while M.I.A. performed on the Sony stage, most of the festivals attendees steadily jockeyed for position. Never have I heard so many people state what time it was or how much time was left to wait. The scheduled start time of 9:10 came and went, and the crowd grew restless. but all was good when around 9:25, the stage went black, and a series of chain motors began to raise a huge backdrop of a single red star.

As the first notes of "Testify" sounded, the crowd surged. Most of the song was spent bouncing around and staying upright through none of my own power. The mood for the show was set as "Testify" reached its climax. With Zach De La Rocha commanding the crowd, all in attendance sang, "who controls the past now controls the future." Rage plowed through hit after hit, from "Bulls on Parade," to "People of the Sun." The crowd (and myself) almost screaming every lyric back at the stage. Tom Morello consistently awed the crowd with his amazing guitar work, but this show belonged to Zach. His presence on the stage, and the amazing fire in his eyes were impossible to ignore. As he rapped his way through "Rodeo," he pointed an imaginary shotgun at the crowd, and played to the home crowd by ad libbing, "I'm rolling down Canal st. with a shotgun."

Mosh pits broke out nearly everywhere in the crowd, but many were quite friendly with some just enjoying the open space to jump up and down, amazed at what they were witnessing. Those who fell on the muddy ground were quickly scooped up. I witnessed very few people that were looking to really rumble. Most just had a good time.

The end of the main set was a perfect duo of songs. "Sleep Now in the Fire" brought an amazing level of excitement for a crowd that had been rocking for an hour. So much so that as "Wake Up" was played, it was almost peaceful. As the slower middle part began, Zach decided it was time for a departure from lyrics. Prior, there had been almost no talking besides the songs themselves. He spoke of visiting the 9th ward, and having an epiphany. He claimed that the US government is currently at war in two places, Iraq and against the people of New Orleans. Some of the crowd cheered, but most seemed to dismiss it, possibly because much of the crowd were not locals. After completing the throat scorching chant of "Wake Up," RATM exited to a huge ovation.

As a veteran of RATM shows, I knew what would be coming after the break, and after about five minutes, they returned and the first notes of "Freedom" began. Building to the first climax, the band fell silent and the stage dark, save a spotlight on De La Rocha. He peered out into the waiting crowd, and shouted "Your anger is a gift." Freedom continued to its expected climax, followed by Morello quietly playing the notes that everyone expected. "Killing in the Name of" rocked the crowd yet again, with some improvised lyrics. "Some of those that burn crosses, are the ones who hold office" emphasised the strong anti-authority message that made RATM so exciting and so popular. As obvious as these messages are on their albums, when witnessing Rage live, it is still amazing to see how passionate De La Rocha is about his music and the causes they promote. After an amazing show like that, I might not go out and start rioting in the streets, but it does cross your mind.

Stars at the Trocadero - Show Review

Stars brought their unique blend of indie pop all the way from their native Montreal to the lovely Trocadero theater in Philadelphia on October 24th, and Evil Homer was there with his pitchfork.
Stars released their fourth full length album, entitled In Our Bedroom After The War, on September 25th of this year. It's a good listen, blending vocal harmonies of Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, over always unpredictable changes in tempo and speed. The album flows between the dark feel of "Personal," to the epic and powerful closing track, which is the title track. Anywho, on to the show.

After a somewhat forgettable opening performance by New Buffalo, I made my way to the main fllor to get a good spot. The stage was decorated with bouquets of flowers seemingly everywhere, and artwork in gallery frames that remained lit throughout the show. The house was near capacity with a crowd quite diverse in style and age. After the cursory wait, Stars took the stage. Campell's and Millan's presence on stage quickly focused the crowd on their interaction, starting with Take Me To The Riot. The band was in sync, making transition smoothly. Overall sound quality was good, but both lead vocals were a bit buried in the mix, making it quite difficult to totally enjoy, and near impossible to understand what Campbell said between songs. Throughout the show, various flowers were tossed to the crowd, making for a great visual of the crowd as a garden.

The highlight of the show for me included Reunion, chronicling being reintroduced to an ex-lover. Amy Millan really grabs the crowd, with her smooth and silky vocal skills. The song caries a lot of emotional lyrics, and the live version didn't leave you feeling let down. My other favorite was Bedroom. The song builds so slowly from just keys and vocals that by the time Stars have reached the climax, with Campbell repeating "After the war," and the band full out rockin', that you don't realize you've been loudly signing along. Bedroom ended the main set in style, and solidly put the show into the category of rockin'. I give it seven Homers.

Set List:

Take Me to the Riot
Set Yourself on Fire
Elevator Love Letter
Genova Heights
Bitches in Tokyo
One More Night
Personal
Look Up
Soft Revy
Midnight Coward
Window Bird
You're Ex-Lover is Dead
Reunion
What I'm Trying to Say
Sleep Tonight
Ageless
In Our Bedroom After the War


Song that I don't know and wasn't on the setlist
My Favourite Book
Celebration Guns
Calendar Girl

P.S. RATM tonight. Holla.

P.P.S. Thanx to Katherine for jogging my memory that they did close with Calendar Girl. They didn't include the encore on the setlist, and I'm a crack baby.

She's got a cool blog. You should read it.

Jimmy Eat World on tour

Jimmy Eat World announced today an east coast leg of their fall tour, starting Octobar 26th in Hot-lanta, and swinging into the lovely 9:30 club on October 30th.

Ticketmaster public sales start Thursday or Friday, depending on the show. Go buy tickets. They are awesome live, and love playing the 9:30 club (they recorded their last DVD at a back to back nights show a few years back).

In other JEW news, we can look forward to their next album on October 16th, entitled Chase The Light. The complete track list is below.

1. Big Casino
2. Let It Happen
3. Always Be
4. Carry You
5. Electable (Give It Up)
6. Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues
7. Feeling Lucky
8. Here It Goes
9. Chase This Light
10. Firefight
11. Dizzy