Rage Against the Machine - Great Show

My son had a great time at the concert.  He said he managed to get up front (he lost a shoe and an earring in the process.)

According to the OC Register:  

"Inside the brimming Hollywood Palladium ballroom Friday night, a fearful anxiety hung nearly as prominently as the air of pent-up excitement, which rapidly approached critical mass as the audience prepared for the first L.A. performance in 10 years from Rage Against the Machine.

Riots at Rage show aren't uncommon, but at this special event -- a benefit to raise upwards of $300,000 for The Sound Strike, a musician-led boycott against the controversial Arizona SB 1070 immigration law -- the fear that EMT sirens would be heard as often as the machine-gun soloing of Tom Morello was magnified tenfold.

But the sirens never came, and despite one of the most roiling circle pits this venue has ever seen, audience members remained equally respectful -- and generally protective -- of one another , making for what might arguably be called Rage's most unifying gig in recent years."

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Rage Against the Machine - July 23 - Hollywood Palladium

Its been over ten years since RATM has played a concert in their hometown of Los Angeles.  They are my son's favorite band so - I got him tickets.  

One of my philosophies in life is that you need to take the opportunities that come your way because you only have this ONE LIFE.  That applies to concerts too!  I could have come up with a lot of reasons NOT to get my son tickets but I want him to experience this.  I want him to have the thrill of seeing these guys on stage, live, in a small venue.  

He asked me if I wanted to go with him :)    It's a sweet gesture but I told him to invite a friend and that if he couldn't find one of his buddies to go I would be happy to go.  I LOVE Tom Morello's guitar playing but don't know if I could handle it (GA seating - standing all night - very very loud).  Sure, I stood almost all night at Bad Co. but that was different.  

They are doing a benefit show "fighting against SB 1070" the new law put in place in Arizona relating to immigration.  

I admire these guys for their talent and convictions but ... I just can't see myself in this audience.  Keven will have a great time.  

This reminds me of something that happened last summer related to Keven and a concert. His other favorite band is Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan was doing a solo concert but Kev was unable to attend because he was in jail at that time. His friends went and decided to hold up a sign that read "Free Keven". They were near the front of the stage and at one point Billy stopped the show and said something like "Okay, I have to know what this is about - who's Keven?" Then his friends and Billy had a conversation about him and one friend got the whole thing on video! It was very cool (well not the jail part - but the rest of it!)