Rage Against the Machine

Show Information:

Date:

1999-01-23

Venue:

Troubador

Location:

Los Angeles, CA USA

Notes:

Secret show annouced the day of the concert. Rage debuted three new songs (Maria, Testify, and Mic Check) as well as playing No Shelter for the first time, and Maynard came out for Know Your Enemy. The version of Testify played differs slightly from the album - it is the same version that was played at the Mumia Benefit Concert a few days later. This is one of my most sought after shows - would love to get ahold of another recording of Maria and Mic Check! Here is a review from Troy Augusto in the My Music Boulevard on 1999-01-25: "The DJ on local radio station KROQ announced the show around 5 p.m. that afternoon, saying that the wristbands were being sold NOW! at the Troubadour box office for $5, first come, first served. As one approached the club by car, it seemed as if many of the other drivers on the road were also crazed Rage fans, as vehicles weaved in and out of slow traffic, searching for the quickest way to the club through a very leisurely part of town. As it turned out, those people who got to the Troub in the first half hour or so after the announcement would make the cut, and would get into what would prove to be one of Rage's most incendiary L.A. shows ever. The first song, "Bulls on Parade," didn't actually come until 1:10 a.m., and the thundering opening notes caused the agitated pit in front of the small stage to explode in a spontaneous release of enthusiastic energy. Next was a supercharged "Know Your Enemy," featuring a dramatic guest appearance by Tool singer Maynard James Keenan, who reprised his intense part ("Sick of, sick of, sick of you") as first heard on Rage's 1992 self-titled debut album. The band's regular set included such other tracks as "Bombtrack" and "Bullet in the Head," both also from that first album, and "Vietnow" and "Down Rodeo," from Rage's 1996 release Evil Empire, as well as their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and two unreleased new songs, the second of which singer Zack de la Rocha said he "wrote about a friend while I was in Chiapas [Mexico], her name is Maria." The encore opened with a third, unidentified new song, and also featured "No Shelter," the throbbing tune Rage contributed to last year's Godzilla soundtrack, plus their longtime show closer, the always combustible and climactic "Freedom." But that wasn't enough for this enraptured crowd, and about five minutes of incessant cheering earned them a second encore, comprising riotous versions of "People of the Sun" and "Killing in the Name" that whipped the pit up anew. The unforgettable show ended at 2:30 a.m. (long after the Troub's bars had closed), with both band and audience members seemingly drained of energy, left all but to contemplate what may very well turn out to be the best L.A. club rock show of 1999. "

Previous show:

1997-09-21 - Desert Sky Pavilion Mesa, AZ USA

Next show:

1999-01-28 - Meadowlands East Rutherford, NJ USA

Setlist (Complete):

• 1 Bulls on Parade
• 2 Know Your Enemy
  (with Maynard James Keenan)
• 3 Vietnow
• 4 Down Rodeo
• 5 Bombtrack
• 6 The Ghost of Tom Joad
  (Bruce Springsteen cover)
• 7 Mic Check
  (Live debut)
• 8 Maria
  (Live debut)
• 9 Bullet in the Head
• (Encore Break)
• 10 Testify
  (Live debut, different lyrics)
• 11 No Shelter
  (Live debut)
• 12 Freedom
• (Encore Break)
• 13 People of the Sun
• 14 Killing in the Name

Live Shots: