The Rage Against the Machine reunion tour was a concert tour by American rock band Rage Against the Machine that took place from 2007 to 2011. It was the first tour for the band since they broke up in 2000. This tour saw Rage Against the Machine performing live worldwide sporadically for four years, with the exception of 2009, before going back on hiatus; the band would not tour again until 2022.
History Rumors that Rage Against the Machine could reunite at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival were circulating in mid-January 2007, and were confirmed on January 22. The band was confirmed to be headlining the final day of Coachella 2007. The reunion was described by Morello as primarily being a vehicle to voice the band's opposition to the "right-wing purgatory" the United States has "slid into" under the George W. Bush administration since RATM's dissolution.
On April 14, 2007, Morello and de la Rocha reunited onstage early to perform a brief acoustic set at a Coalition of Immokalee Workers rally in downtown Chicago. Morello described the event as "very exciting for everybody in the room, myself included." This was followed by the scheduled Coachella performance on Sunday, April 29 where the band staged a much anticipated performance to the largest crowds of the festival. This was originally thought of as a one-off show, which later turned out to be untrue. The band later played four shows in the Hip Hop festival Rock the Bells with the Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill, and later an additional night in New York City after the first night sold out in 20 minutes. Rage also played their first (non-festival) concert in seven years at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin, supported by Queens of the Stone Age in August 2007. The band played co-headlining spots at New Orleans' Voodoo Music Experience in late October and the Vegoose Festival in Las Vegas. These shows were the last performances by the band in 2007.
On January 18, 2008, the band played their first show outside of the U.S. since their reunion in Auckland, New Zealand, as part of the Big Day Out festival series. The band also played seven shows in Australia including several headlining shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth. The band has since continued to tour around the world, headlining many large festivals in Europe and the United States, including Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois. In 2008 the band also played shows in Denver, Colorado and St. Paul, Minnesota; the locations of the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention, respectively.
In December 2008, PremierGuitar.com conducted an interview with Tom Morello and when asked about his plans for 2009 he replied:
"Well, I know for sure that I'll be doing a lot of Nightwatchman dates in the coming year and continuing the Axis of Justice organization that I run with Serj Tankian. I got a pretty large cache of Nightwatchman songs that I haven't released yet so I'll definitely continue writing and recording. Also, I had a great time playing Rage Against the Machine shows over the course of the year and half and I have no doubt that we'll continue to do more of those in the future."
In 2009, Morello also went on to work with his nonprofit, Axis of Justice.
Another leg was added for Europe in 2010. The leg included dates at indoor arenas, and outdoor festivals. The band also headlined the Download Festival at Donington Park, on June 12. On July 23, Rage performed at a benefit concert at the Hollywood Palladium theater in their hometown of Los Angeles to protest against the Arizona SB 1070 law. It was their first U.S. show in two years and according to guitarist Tom Morello it will be their only show in the U.S. for the year. In late 2010 they also completed a short three-date South American tour, including a headline set at the SWU Music & Arts Festival. This was the first time they had played in that continent.
Morello stated, the only Rage appearance for 2011 was a performance on July 30 at the L.A. Rising festival with El Gran Silencio, Immortal Technique, Lauryn Hill, Rise Against and Muse. Morello hoped that Rage Against the Machine would tour in 2012 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut album, but this never came to fruition.
On July 30, 2013, exactly two years after its original performance, it was announced on the L.A. Rising's Facebook page that the festival would once again take place in August 2014. Multiple sources reported that Rage Against the Machine would participate in the festival. However, this never happened.
On October 16, 2015, the 2010 gig in Finsbury Park was released as a DVD and Blu-ray titled Live at Finsbury Park.
Setlist Throughout the entirety of the reunion tour, the band's setlist was usually of the same structure for every show. The band played various songs at different shows. On each leg of the tour, the band played a new song(s) and added them regularly to the setlist. At a regular performance, the band would play 14 or 15 songs, including an encore.
Songs played
Testify Bulls on Parade People of the Sun Bombtrack Know Your Enemy Bullet in the Head Born of a Broken Man Clampdown (The Clash cover) Vietnow Without a Face (played once in Portugal) Down Rodeo Kick Out the Jams (played original MC5 version with Wayne Kramer) Tire Me Guerrilla Radio
White Riot (The Clash cover) No Shelter (played once in San Bernardino) Renegades of Funk Ashes in the Fall Take the Power Back (played once at Alpine Valley Music Theatre) Calm Like a Bomb Sleep Now in the Fire War Within a Breath Wake Up Freedom (with Township Rebellion Snippet) Killing in the Name Year of tha Boomerang (played once at Rock im Park) Katrina Song (played once at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN) Canción del minero (Víctor Jara cover) (played once in Chile)
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenue2007 North American legApril 29, 2007IndioUnited StatesCoachella Valley Music and Arts FestivalJuly 28, 2007New York CityRock the BellsJuly 29, 2007August 11, 2007San BernardinoAugust 18, 2007San FranciscoAugust 24, 2007East TroyAlpine Valley Music TheatreOctober 26, 2007New OrleansVoodoo Music ExperienceOctober 28, 2007Las VegasVegoose2008 New Zealand/Australian/Japan legJanuary 18, 2008AucklandNew ZealandBig Day OutJanuary 20, 2008Gold CoastAustraliaJanuary 22, 2008SydneySydney Entertainment CentreJanuary 25, 2008Big Day OutJanuary 28, 2008MelbourneJanuary 30, 2008Festival HallFebruary 1, 2008AdelaideBig Day OutFebruary 3, 2008PerthFebruary 7, 2008OsakaJapanOsaka Castle HallFebruary 9, 2008TokyoMakuhari MesseFebruary 10, 20082008 European legMay 30, 2008MadridSpainElectric WeekendJune 1, 2008LandgraafNetherlandsPinkpop FestivalJune 2, 2008AntwerpBelgiumSportpaleisJune 4, 2008ParisFrancePalais omnisports de Paris-BercyJune 6, 2008NürburgringGermanyRock am RingJune 7, 2008NurembergRock im ParkJune 10, 2008BerlinZitadelleJune 12, 2008HultsfredSwedenHultsfred FestivalJune 14, 2008ModenaItalyStadio Alberto BragliaJune 15, 2008NickelsdorfAustriaNova Rock FestivalJuly 10, 2008LisbonPortugalOptimus Alive!July 12, 2008BaladoScotlandT in the ParkJuly 13, 2008County KildareIrelandOxegen 20082008 North American/European legAugust 2, 2008ChicagoUnited StatesLollapaloozaAugust 20, 2008ParisFranceRock en SeineAugust 22, 2008ReadingEnglandReading FestivalAugust 23, 2008LeedsLeeds FestivalAugust 27, 2008DenverUnited StatesTent State Music Festival to End the WarSeptember 3, 2008MinneapolisTarget Center EuropeJune 3, 2010NurembergGermanyRock im ParkJune 4, 2010NürburgringRock am RingJune 6, 2010LondonEnglandFinsbury ParkJune 8, 2010DublinIrelandO2 ArenaJune 9, 2010ArnhemNetherlandsGelreDomeJune 11, 2010MadridSpainRock in RioJune 12, 2010Donington ParkEnglandDownload FestivalNorth AmericaJuly 23, 2010Los AngelesUnited StatesHollywood PalladiumSouth AmericaOctober 9, 2010ItuBrazilSWU Music & ArtsOctober 11, 2010SantiagoChileMaquinaria festivalOctober 13, 2010Buenos AiresArgentinaCostanera Sur North AmericaJuly 30, 2011Los AngelesUnited StatesLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (L.A. Rising Festival)
References
External links Official website Axis of Justice Tom Morello and Serj Tankian's activist website "Axis of Justice"