Rage Against the Machine Tickets

Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against the Machine earned acclaim for their pretentious, violently polemical music, which infused leftist rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov fusion of punk, hip-hop, and thrash.

Formed in Los Angeles in the early '90s, the band includes vocalist Zack de la Rocha (the son of Chicano political artist Beto) emerged from the bands Headstance, Farside, and Inside Out; guitarist Tom Morello (the nephew of Jomo Kenyatta, the first Kenyan president) originated in Lock Up; and drummer Brad Wilk played with future Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.

Rounded out by bassist Tim Bob (aka Tim C., born Tim Commerford), a childhood friend of de la Rocha's, Rage debuted in 1992 with a self-released, self-titled 12-song cassette featuring the song Bullet in the Head, which became a hit when reissued as a single later in the year.

This got them a contract with Epic, and their leap to the majors did not go unnoticed by critics, who questioned the band's decision to line up with the label's parent company, media behemoth Sony. The impervious four emerged in late 1992 with their eponymous official debut, scoring the hits Killing in the Name and Bombtrack. After touring with Lollapalooza and declaring their support of groups like FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), Rock for Choice, and Refuse & Resist, Rage spent a reportedly chaotic four years working on their follow-up; although rumors of a breakup, they returned in 1996 with Evil Empire, which hit the U.S. album charts at no#1, scoring a hit number Bulls on Parade. In 1997, the group joined forces with hip-hop supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan for a summer tour and supported various leftist political causes, including a contentious 1999 benefit concert for death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. The album Battle of Los Angeles in 1999 also scored no#1 and went double platinum by next summers. In early 2000, de la Rocha announced plans for a solo project, and the band performed a highly-energetic show outside Democratic National Convention in August. The following month, bassist Commerford was arrested for rebellious conduct at MTV's Video Music Awards following his bizarre disruption of a Limp Bizkit acceptance speech, in which he climbed to the top of a 15-foot set piece and rocked back and forth.

Plans for a live album were announced shortly thereafter, but in October, de la Rocha unexpectedly announced his departure from the band. The remaining members decided to hire a new vocalist, while de la Rocha re-focused on his solo album, which was slated to include collaborations with acclaimed hip-hop artists including DJ Shadow and El-P of Company Flow.

December 2000 saw the release of de la Rocha's final studio effort with the band, the Rick Rubin-produced Renegades; it featured nearly a dozen covers of hip-hop, rock, and punk artists like EPMD, Bruce Springsteen, Devo, the Rolling Stones, the MC5, and more. By 2001, Morello, Wilk, and Commerford had formed Audioslave with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, and the group released an eponymous album by the end of 2002. With a de la Rocha solo album still not announced, Epic finally released the long-promised concert album Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium on CD and DVD in time for Christmas 2003.

The members rejected various offers to reunite for performances at concerts and tours. Rumors of bad blood between de la Rocha and the other former band members after circulated, but later evidences falsified the gossip.