Rage Against the Machine Play First Show in 11 Years

The wait is over and the rage has been unleashed! Rage Against the Machine are back as a live touring band in 2022, having returned to the stage at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wis., Saturday night (July 9) to kick off the North American touring of their reunion tour.

This marked the band’s first performance in the U.S. since their July 30, 2011 L.A. Rising show at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It also marked the band’s highly anticipated return since first announcing their plans to reunite back in 2019. In between that L.A. Rising show and the reunion announcement, three-quarters of the band performed as Prophets of Rage over a few years with Public Enemy’s Chuck D. and Cypress Hill’s B-Real handling vocals.

But with Zack de la Rocha back on the mic, the band delivered an incendiary set of fan favorite hits and pulled out some tracks that hadn’t been performed in quite some time during their opening night of the tour. After the opening salvo of “Bombtrack,” the band dove into the Evil Empire favorites, “People of the Sun” and “Bulls on Parade.”

Among the surprises during the evening were “Tire Me,” “Without a Face” and “War Within a Breath,” all three making their first appearances in a Rage set since 2008. And you’d have to go back even further to the year 2000 for the last time the band played their Bruce Springsteen cover “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” though it has been performed by Tom Morello and Prophets of Rage since that time.

You can see the full setlist from opening night along with fan-shot videos from the opening night of the “Public Service Announcement” tour below. You can get tickets to see Rage Against the Machine on their reunion run, which also features Run the Jewels, at this location.

Rage Against the Machine, East Troy, Wisconsin at Alpine Valley Theatre July 9 (per Setlist.fm)

1. Bombtrack
2. People of the Sun
3. Bulls on Parade
4. Bullet in the Head
5. Testify (with Revolver intro)
6. Tire Me (first time since 2008)
7. Wake Up
8. Guerrilla Radio
9. Without a Face (first time since 2008)
10. Know Your Enemy
11. Calm Like a Bomb
12. Sleep Now in the Fire
13. War Within a Breath (first time since 2008)
14. The Ghost of Tom Joad (first time since 2000)
15. Freedom (with Township Rebellion outro)
16. Killing in the Name

Rage Against the Machine, “Bombtrack” – Alpine Valley 2022

Rage Against the Machine, “People of the Sun” – Alpine Valley 2022

Rage Against the Machine, “Bulls on Parade” – Alpine Valley 2022

Rage Against the Machine, “Testify” – Alpine Valley 2022

Rage Against the Machine, “Sleep Now in the Fire” – Alpine Valley

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