Prophets of Rage
20th March 2018
Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
Supergroups are certainly not a new thing, but few could argue that Prophets of Rage are the supergroup to end all others. With three members of both Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, two members of Public Enemy and the man himself B-Real from Cypress Hill, it is the group that defies all others, with not only their own orginal songs but a hefty back catalogue from which to draw from.
As fans poured in through the doors, expectations ran high in regards to just what the set list from such an impressive group of individual artists in their own right would provide. Alien Weaponry – having already laid down a huge set to the early assembled – had finished up and the stage was now laid out with a semi-circle of light panels and an impressive looking drum kit laying dormant; the DJ desk suddenly springing to life courtesy of a spotlight, the house lights dimming as the crowd roared.
DJ Lord of the epic Public Enemy suddenly appeared behind the decks, with black cap pulled down low he bellowed into the microphone; “Auckland – You just have to do one thing for me tonight, pay attention!” and with that he began to play an electric guitar version of the American national anthem ‘The Star Spangled Banner’. With the formalities out of the way it was time for DJ Lord to illustrate some of his enviable skills; kicking it off with a little of Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ before diving into a mix that included everything from KRS-One to ‘Points of Authority’ by Linkin Park, DJ Lord interjecting with an “RIP Chester Bennington, we love you” the fans cheering in unified respect. While hardly breaking a sweat, DJ Lord spun his tracks taking fans through a variable history of music, Punjabi hip-hop to Jason Derulo’s ‘Talk Dirty’ – Wu-Tang Clan to Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’; the fans happily changing from moshing to bouncing as each track was spun. Finishing on a little ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ from Nirvana and the crowd showed their appreciation, before descending into screams as the lights completely went out and air raid sirens tore through the air.
Red spotlights frantically searched the crowd, the effect of the two making for one hell of a dramatic entrance for the band as they quickly moved into place; the crowd howling even louder and surging forward as the stage lights came up to reveal this incredible group of musicians, standing silently united with one fist raised in the air, thousands in the audience joining them in solidarity as the black backdrop dropped away to reveal a giant colour version of their album cover. Opening with the classic ‘Prophets of Rage’ by Public Enemy, a track first released thirty years ago on the It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back album, and it is immediately obvious that tonight is going to be something truly special, with each and every band member sounding completely on point.
Leading the pack was Chuck D, wearing a simple black t-shirt and cap and his fellow vocalist B-Real of Cypress Hill, who wore a slightly more interesting outfit that included a bright red, long sleeved jacket combined with black leather gloves and a keffiyeh. As the two bounded about the stage, Brad Wilk smashed out the beat from behind his kit, DJ Lord adding his own unique touches. But for many in the audience, their eyes were drawn to both bassist Tim Commerford – his stunning black work tattoos ever impressive – and of course the guitar legend himself Mr Tom Morello.
“Make New Zealand rage again – Kia Ora!” Chuck D greeted the crowd, before they swiftly moved into ‘Testify’ and the ever popular ‘Take The Power Back’ that featured the first of what was to be several mouth-watering solo’s from Morello. Upon the song’s conclusion, Chuck D once again piped up stating that the track “goes for the Maori people too”. In a set that of course featured many a track from the bands that each member came from, there were mixed in some originals from Prophets of Rage, the first to appear being ‘Living on the 110’, a poignant song about homelessness, an issue that is not only an American one but a Kiwi one as well. Indeed with Prophets of Rage being made up of some of the most politically driven musicians in the world, their albums are full of tracks with powerful messages being delivered through the medium of music; no fluff or filler to be seen on these albums kids. This was a point hammered home even more clearly as Chuck D spotted a sign dissing POTUS Donald Trump; “I saw your sign over there about Trump, we already know … this goes deeper than that!”
And indeed it does go deeper than that. When you consider what Chuck D was first fighting against when they formed Public Enemy, has America really changed that much? Has the world learnt nothing? Or are we continuing to move in the same circles, doomed never to learn our lesson. One only needing to truly hear the lyrics of tracks such as ‘Guerilla Radio’ and ‘Fight The Power’ (which featured some absolutely stunning guitar work from Morello, courtesy of not only his hands but his teeth) to understand the messages that these musicians are telling us. Many of the Prophets of Rage tracks also making statements such as ‘Legalize Me’ which saw B-Real defiantly light up on stage as he delivered the song, that familiar Cypress Hill twang making its appearance. “This song is for the stoners and the immigrants!” he announced, the crowd cheering him on.
But the night wasn’t all about the sadly depressing state of the world today; these boys knew how to have fun as well. As the Morello, Wilk and Commerford left the stage for a well-earned breather, Chuck D and B-Real decided to come down into the pit and get to know the crowd a little better as they delivered a mind blowing mix of both Public Enemy and Cypress Hill tracks, Dj Lord providing them their sounds impeccably. Infectious hip-hop grooves filled the air as the crowd bounced in time to the beat, fans both young and old(er) belting out the lyrics to their favourite track. B-Real finishing the piece by requesting that everyone get down low, advising that “by the nature of hip-hop you will know exactly what to do” – and as those instantly recognisable notes of House of Pains ‘Jump Around’ filled the air, the crowd proved that they did indeed know.
Full band back on stage and the show continued, a stunning version of ‘Sleep Now In The Fire’ delivered with passion that burned from deep within. Suddenly a hush fell over the audience as Tom Morello (who most could not argue had basically stolen the show tonight, Commerford with his frenetic bass playing coming a very close second) stepped up to the microphone. He first thanked the audience for setting the bar high before thanking both Prophets of Rage’s road crew and Spark Arena’s crew; “Without them there is no show” – indeed it was wonderful to see some genuine respect being given to the often unsung heroes behind any show. But it was Morello’s request for the audience to pay their respects to their fallen friend Chris Cornell that saw not seconds but minutes of applause reverberate around the room, Morello several times raising his hands in a silent request for them to continue; Cornell touching the hearts and minds of so many in the room tonight, both musicians and fans alike. Stating that they would like to invite their favourite Kiwi out on stage to help them sing the next song, the arena almost imploded as Serj Tankian of System of a Down emerged from side of stage to deliver a heart wrenching version of ‘Like A Stone’, the remaining Audioslave members throwing in the opening bars to ‘Cochise’ at the end.
Following a little Morello goodness as he delivered a cover of ‘Cathedral’ by Van Halen, a stunning instrumental piece from the 1982 Diver Down album and we were on the home run, with hit after hit crashing over the audience and seeing the formation of some pretty intense little mosh/circle pits, the biggest coming when B-Real demanded them for ‘Unfuck The World’
“Thank you, we talked tonight about all the fuckery in the world and you showed us that many of you are woke” B-Real addressed the audience in a serious tone. “These are dangerous times and they call for dangerous songs – and this is the most dangerous song of them all…” Everyone at this point knew what was coming, but when ‘Killing In The Name Of’ dropped, it tore the room apart, fans throwing their bodies into the full momentum of it and bellowing out the lyrics with fervour. “We are Prophets of Rage!” the band thanking the audience before taking the obligatory selfie and leaving the stage, the sounds of Bob Marley’s ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ a truly appropriate track playing them out.
As many would testify, at times you often felt as if you were observing the world’s greatest covers band – but with such a driven and damn near faultless performance, their messages to the world and mix of original tracks that slotted in seamlessly – was anyone really going to complain?
Were you there at Spark Arena for this brilliant politically fuelled gig? Or have you seen Prophets of Rage perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Prophets Of Rage
- Testify
- Take The Power Back
- Living On The 110
- Hail To The Chief
- Guerilla Radio
- Legalize Me
- Fight The Power
- Hand On The Pump/Can’t Truss It/Insane In The Brain/Bring The Noise/I Ain’t Going Out Like That/Welcome To The Terrordome/Jump Around
- Sleep Now In The Fire
- Like A Stone [Feat. Serj Tankian]
- Cathedral [Van Halen cover]
- Know Your Enemy
- Bullet In The Head
- Rock Superstar
- Unfuck The World
- How I Could Just Kill A Man
- Bulls On Parade
- Killing In The Name Of
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