Tag: zackdelaroch

August 9, 2022 – Madison Square Garden, NYC

Review by Chris Yates // Photography by Estelle Massry

One of the most anticipated tours finally arrived at MSG Tuesday night, August 9th. For the first time in eleven years Rage Against The Machine (RATM) blessed the Big Apple with a mission… to absolutely blow the roof off of “The Garden”. Mission Accomplished!

Tuesdays show was the second night of a five night sold out stay at the “World’s Most Famous Arena”, Madison Square Garden. Frontman Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk delivered in spades with an explosive performance. The night was electric, loud and as high energy as any concert I’ve been to. The pure energy of Rage Against The Machine is truly unmatched. They are one of the most riveting live acts in rock history, mashing together rap and rock into a completely unique blend.

This is a band with tremendous longevity, who have lasted over 30 years with facets of both rap and rock. They have uniquely created their own genre while remaining current with their loyal fans who have been waiting to see them live again. Joining Rage Against The Machine on this tour is rap group Run The Jewels. The duo consisting of Killer Mike and El-P ignited the night with a comparable, high energy performance.

The tour has been sold out all over the country, which is understandable as fans have been waiting for over 11 years, and the scheduled tour 2 years ago was put on hold due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, however, after the MSG run, they have officially cancelled the European leg of their tour scheduled for October so that Zack can fully heal his leg which he injured performing only a couple songs into his set on July 11th in Chicago.

The night started with a “Public Service Announcement” intro as RATM took the stage, which was illuminated and blanketed in red. De la Rocha was carried in by security due to his injured knee. However, the injury did not stop him from delivering a stellar performance, filled with so much energy and conviction. His voice still has so much power and a sense of explosive urgency, kicking his one good leg and throwing his hands up throughout the entire show as he sat in what seemed to be one of the bands equipment trunks. Contrary to de la Rocha’s normal stage presence of jumping, and moving around a lot as he performs, I felt this to be a unique experience as there seemed to be a more intimate feel as I observed each band member remaining closer to Zack than they normally would. It was cool to read into the personality and closeness of the band as they seemed thoroughly engaged with each other and not missing a beat.

While Rage Against The Machine is a very political band, their music speaks for itself – they didn’t do much talking or preaching during their set. Rather the group emphasized their convictions with text and video, including chilling images on the screen. For instance, the screen behind the band flashed information about poverty, riots and lack of universal health care during “Freedom”. There were also videos of a police van engulfed in flames, a snarling police dog chasing after a suspect and a helicopter hovering over a boat full of migrants. No need for extra speech when the meticulously crafted presentation was clearly present in all the music and visuals.

A must see live show that many have been waiting to see for some time, including myself! One can sense the electrifying performance in the photo gallery here. It’s clear when ones connection to the experience of this show is brought to life through the images they capture. And this is the case with Estelle’s photo’s of RATM.

“Not only was this one I’ve been wanting to see but what an extra special treat to be able to photograph them at MSG, the World’s most famous arena.” – Estelle {Photographer}

Enjoy!

For more info please visit http://www.ratm.com