Dead End Drive-In: Now Showing – Rage Against The Machine – ‘Live At Finsbury Park’
Written by Gaz Tidey
Sunday, 04 October 2015 03:30
Rage Against The Machine – ‘Live At Finsbury Park’ (Eagle Vision)
So fast does technology move these days (due to the use of alien tech, David Icke told me) it’s hard to imagine a world without facebook, let alone the facebook of several years ago; before it became the self-obsessed vessel of one-upmanship and casual racism that it is today, of course.
Yes, there was a time in very recent history when Joe Public thought that, instead of sharing misspelt memes and ‘outrageous’ news stories (click bait, ya thick fucks), they could change the world by creating facebook campaigns calling for people to download ‘alternative’ songs in an attempt to cock block the way to the top of a chart that nobody cares about any more by puppet-stringed artists moulded into cliché by Saturday night TV shows.
Now, as revolutionary as the campaigns appeared to some, in reality they were almost as safe as the club singers come megastars that they were supposed to be kicking against. Rebellion by way of downloading an Iron Maiden or AC/DC track that you could pick up in the supermarket as you bought your brand goods on your credit card? Wow, you little Che Guevaras, you.
One such campaign, however, did buck the trend somewhat, in both song choice and success…
In late 2009 Jon and Tracy Morter launched a facebook campaign to get an alternative song to the top of the UK singles chart at Christmas, ahead of the automaton X-Factor winner who usually walked his or her way (like a Gerry Anderson creation) to the once coveted seasonal slot. The recipient of the collective X-Factor cock being rammed into his orifice that year was a nobody whose name I didn’t know then, and don’t know now. What I do know is the song that the Morters chose to spearhead their campaign was ‘Killing In The Name’ by Rage Against The Machine.
Even though it was less than six years ago, footage of the campaign now plays out like one of those ‘Remember The [Insert Decade Here]’ shows where Channel 5 drag a bunch of nothing comedians out of their day jobs for an hour or so to pretend that they remember everything about a particular moment in history. What was it that Ferris Bueller told us about life moving pretty fast?
Happily, Eagle Vision are about to present you with the opportunity to own a pretty decent document of the time that Rage Against The Machine promised to play a free show in the UK if ‘Killing In The Name’ did, in fact, top the Xmas singles chart, so you never have to worry about the blurring of life causing the erasure of valuable memories.
‘Live At Finsbury Park’, recipient of simultaneous DVD, Blu-ray and digital release on October 16th, was previously only available as a digital versatile disc in a RATM deluxe boxset and captures the band coming good on the free gig promise by playing London on 6th June, 2010.
The concert film looks fantastic, due to having Oscar-nominated Director of Photography, Jeff Cronenweth in charge of the appealing aesthetic. The veteran of films such as Fight Club, The Social Network, Gone Girl and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo US remake – yes he’s David Fincher’s go-to guy – expertly bottling the tone and scope of the event, utilising a wealth of cameras, including one strapped to a helicopter.
Introduced by Public Enemy’s Chuck D, ‘Live At Finsbury Park’ (previously titled ‘The Rage Factor: Rage Against The Machine Live from London’) offers nothing but a standard Greatest Hits set from RATM, but the electricity in the air and sense of, if not full-on rebellion but achievement pushes it above and beyond your standard treading of the boards.
Zack de la Rocha speaks well of the importance of great British groups before his bandmates unfurl a casual, sloppy almost, cover of The Clash’s ‘White Riot’ but, that aside, the twelve-song setlist punches as a mammoth Rage song collection should. “Your anger is a gift,” the frontman tells the crowd and, as the 2009 Xmas Number One closes the show, you’re left with no doubt that those who feel culturally disenfranchised can truly make a difference.
A five-minute ‘Behind The Scenes’ featurette heads up the duo of extra features and is actually a pretty decent glimpse into what goes on when putting together an event of this size; the second feature an interview with Jon Morter and (silent) wife where he details the origins of the campaign, the media interest that it created, and the phone call he received from a certain Mr. Cowell…
To pick up your copy of ‘Live At Finsbury Park’ on Blu-ray and DVD – CLICK HERE
