It’s been 24 years since Rage Against the Machine performed a protest set outside the Democratic National Convention in 2000. Now, with another presidential election looming, the band has revisited the performance, making it available on streaming services.
Released on Friday on Apple Music, Spotify, and other streaming platforms, Democratic National Convention 2000 (Live) captures the six-song performance the band delivered outside the Staples Center on August 14th, 2000, as the party was preparing to nominate then-Vice President Al Gore inside.
Among the songs the band played were hits like “Killing In the Name,” “Bulls on Parade,” “Guerrilla Radio,” “Sleep Now In the Fire,” and more. In between, the band spoke to the energized crowd, alluding to some of the political and social issues of the day (which, sadly, have only become more prevalent).
“Brothers and sisters, our democracy has been hijacked,” vocalist Zack de la Rocha said before they launched into the first song. “Our electoral freedoms in this country are over so long as they’re controlled by corporations. We are not going to allow these streets to be taken over by the Democrats or the Republicans.”
Democratic National Convention 2000 (Live) was first shared by Rage Against the Machine as a vinyl-only release in 2018. It’ll be re-released on vinyl for Record Store Day Black Friday on November 29th.
Democratic National Convention 2000 (Live) Artwork:
Democratic National Convention 2000 (Live) Tracklist:
01. Bulls on Parade
02. Testify
03. Guerrilla Radio
04. Sleep Now In the Fire
05. Freedom
06. Killing In the Name