What an astounding discharge of rap-metal! After a pandemic of waiting, Rage Against the Machine offered at the Plains of Abraham, last night, at its very first show in Quebec for life, the ultimate session of collective release.
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This Quebec-exclusive show, originally scheduled for the canceled 2020 Summer Festival, fulfilled all expectations and more.
With all due respect to Maroon 5, which made the site vibrate last Saturday, we have witnessed the most explosive communion between an artist and the public, on the Plains, since the beginning of this FEQ.
Fifteen minutes from the arrival of RATM on stage, several of the festival-goers who had filled the Plains were already shouting “ahoy, ahoy”. The tension was palpable.
Then, when the quartet launched hostilities with Bombtrack, the whole audience launched into a furious mosh pit that was rarely interrupted during these 90 minutes of music delivered at a hellish pace.
Fierce
Forced to sit out due to a leg injury sustained earlier this week, singer Zack de la Rocha still led the charge with fierce intensity. It sometimes felt like he was holding back from defying his injury and diving into the crowd.
By his side, the virtuoso Tom Morello had fun torturing his six-string. With his forearms during People of the Sun, with his teeth during an incendiary Bullet in the Head, whose slow final crescendo ignited the festival-goers.
More discreet, but no less effective, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk were also essential cogs in the success of this concert, built like a series of rabid rock bombs from the group’s first three albums.
euphoria
As we could also predict from these revolutionary souls, the giant screen has often been used to broadcast images encouraging us to rebel against the fate reserved for the most vulnerable.
After singing Freedom, Zack de la Rocha warned the audience against the rich and powerful who want to “turn us back”. In the same vein, the group came to the defense of the rights of the First Nations in a series of messages which insisted, among other things, on the fact that in Canada, Aboriginal women were 16 times more at risk of being murdered. or disappear.
This political interlude set the stage for a blistering finale as the band and audience sang Killing In The Name in utter euphoria.
Applauded to the hilt, the band members then sat down with de la Rocha and waved to the festival-goers for a good two minutes, wide smiles lighting up their faces.
Two people then hugged the singer. As he was transported backstage, Zack de la Rocha gave the victory sign.
It was indeed a triumph.
Alexisonfire: blast the decibels
Whether it’s to replace a headliner at short notice and two days notice like in 2018, when Avenged Sevenfold withdrew, or to offer an extra-decibel type warm-up session before the arrival of Rage Against The Machine, Alexisonfire always responds.
Last night, the Canadian hardcore group subjected the plains to a bombardment in order. With the possible exception of The Northern (and again!), Alexisonfire tested the level of resistance of our eardrums throughout his short, but intense performance.
The public response was no less intense. During Dog’s Blood and Young Cardinals, a giant mosh pit formed on the floor. The thing did not escape singer George Pettit.
“There is no one in Canada who does that. Tens of thousands of people for rock music, that’s a hell of a fucking accomplishment. »
Vulgar Machins: as incisive as ten years ago
If Vulgaires Machins has softened after ten years of absence? Not a crumb. The quartet is as incisive and militant as ever, one might say after stalking their first gig in a decade at sunset Saturday on the Plains.
You could feel it during the introduction to Being a Like, seeing Marie-Ève Roy set the pace with authority, supported by Guillaume Beauregard in great shape. The kings of Quebec punk are back, hungry and lucid, as demonstrated by Beauregard in presenting Triple Murder and Failed Suicide.
“The suicide rate has remained stable in Quebec for the past twenty years, which confirms that the next song was useless. »
During the 45 minutes allocated to it, Vulgaires Machins mainly rehash the past, threading The Myth of Democracy, Bottomless Pit and other Counting the bodies.
From their new album which will seal their big comeback, in October, before a tour with Anti-Flag, the group only played the extract Je lève mon verre. “The worst song on the album, but the most important because it’s a song of solidarity”, says Guillaume Beauregard.
If it’s really the worst, it promises.
