The Battle of Ireland: Setlist & Some Pictures

It was more than a bit surreal to have the same fella I went to Singapore with all those years ago to buy my first RATM t-shirt, visit me all the way from Malaysia (via most of the Middle East, Continental Europe and the UK) on the same day I was about to go to my first ever RATM gig. I still had the same t-shirt and wore it to the gig with some degree of pride.

We arrived at the O2 on the Luas which, was a pleasant surprise especially since the station was literally a stone's throw away from the venue. The place itself was very professionally run. Too professional in fact as it somehow lost its rock concert feel.

The Gallows at the O2, Dublin

Anyway, The Gallows were halfway through their set when we finally made it in (and after getting the obligatory official tour t-shirt). The punk band's set was then followed by a band that I've never heard of before, Gogol Bordello. Their brand of music was particularly refreshing and definitely set the tone for what was to come next.

 Gogol Bordello at the O2, Dublin

Rage was never going to be disappoint as soon as they came out. Their setlist was mostly made-up of their self-titled debut album with only a few songs thrown in from Evil Empire. A good choice I think, as I've always preferred the first album when compared to its successors. Here's the full setlist as I remembered it (apologies if I got some wrong as this is totally from memory):

Testify

Bombtrack (that intro never sounded so good)

People of the Sun

Know Your Enemy

Bulls on Parade

Township Rebellion

Afrika Bambaata cover: Renegades of Funk

Bullet in the Head

The Clash cover: White Riot (The Gallows covered I Fought the Law)

Guerilla Radio

Sleep Now in the Fire

Wake Up

Encore:

Kicked-off with what sounded like the old Soviet anthem

Freedom

Killing in the Name Of

Rage Against the Machine - who else could it be?

And of course, no Rage set would be complete without Zack de La Rocha's messages of solidarity to the oppressed denizens of the EU (particularly in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece) and support for the brave souls trying to break the cruel blockade on the people of Gaza by the regime in Israel. End the Siege, now!

Raging till the end

All in all, a brilliant night that could've been even better if I'd only gotten myself some standing tickets. I'll try to get the few videos I'd taken, uploaded in the next few days.