Rock the Bells

August 19th, 2007--There was no place to sit or lay, except the hot, dirty asphalt across which garbage blew as if from some post-apocalyptic flick. Indeed, garbage cans were scarce, food and drink options limited, entrances and exits few and poorly placed. Moreover, the pseudo-exclusive VIP section offered an obstructed view of the main stage and no view of the second stage; it was also impossibly fenced off from the general admittance area that hosted the majority of the bathrooms and vendors. Welcome to 2007’s Rock the Bells.

    This wasn’t one of those shows in the city where you get gussied up with your flyest gear and your woman gets her hair did, squeezes into a prom-style sequined dress and pretends she likes the fact that you put on way too much cologne. It wasn’t held at an opera- or theater-appropriate venue with a gold-leafed domed ceiling and plush seats. There was nothing plush about Rock the Bells.

    But then again, it was never billed that way. What the show promised was a parking lot show boasting the most extensive quality hip-hop lineup in recent NorCal history. What it delivered was just that.

    During the day, the Hieroglyphics and the Coup, both Oakland-area natives, kept entertained the swelling crowd that would total more than 40,000 at night’s end. The thankfully hyphy-free lineup continued with solid acts like Cypress Hill, Public Enemy and the entire Wu-Tang Clan, save for of course the dearly missed ODB, a talented founding member and court jester who passed in November of 2004.

    The quickly filling McCovey Cove parking lot crowd seemed in unison to chant back at these later acts in nostalgic harmony: “Here is something you can’t understand…”;  “Fight the Power!”; “Insane in the membrane!”; “M-E-T-H-O-D Man!”; “So get up get, get get down/911 is a joke in yo’ town.” Classic. The audience of mostly 20- and 30-somethings seemed to be getting exactly what they came for from the impressive lineup of acts (who it should be mentioned are largely 30- and 40-something icons).

    Just as the sun began to set, the main stage was cleared for the headliner. Rage Against the Machine, complete with charismatic hyper-wired frontman Zack de la Rocha. Matched with guitar genius Tom Morello’s inventive sounds (which vary from the beeps and moans of coital futuristic robots to five-car pileups), de la Rocha’s evocative wailing is simply beyond compare. Never mind that this rock band (with admitted hip-hop sensibilities) was headlining a rap show with the likes of Wu-Tang, PE and Cypress Hill. Never mind that it had been 15 years since the band burst onto the scene with its self-titled breakthrough album. Never mind that the crowd had been on its feet for hours. This was Rage, in all its glory, belting out anthem after anthem of spine-tingling beats and riffs. The 80-minute set of high-energy music was concluded with a three-song encore and 40,000-plus fans screaming, “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!” Padded seats and garbage cans are overrated!                

See more photos of the show at the Synthesis blog.

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