Rocked the Bells

Yesterday's adventure was one for the ages. A legend that shall be passed down from generation to generation, which tells of two men who, in the face of adversity, stood up, raised a fist in the air and declared "Hey, let's get drunk and go to a concert". And so they did.

Guapo and I headed down to San Francisco for the Rock the Bells festival in the parking lot of AT&T Park. After a quick fueling at Chevys...

...and an abundant re-fueling at the beer garden...

...we were ready to partake.

Here are a few of the highlights from the all-day music festival:

Rage Against the Machine

These guys reunited and joined in on only four of the Rock the Bells concerts this summer, and clearly stole the show. They put on an excellent performance that included every song one would want to hear. I always wondered what they'd have to say given today's political climate. If they were pissed back in 1999, then they must really have something to rage about today.

During their performance I learned an important lesson... Shooting video in a Rage mosh pit is both difficult and painful. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me set up a tripod, but I did what I could. Here's their offering of "Bulls on Parade":



I certainly hope this isn't just a one time thing, I'd love to hear a new album from these guys, as well as some modern political commentary.

The Wu-Tang Clan

Also recently reunited was co-headliner The Wu-Tang Clan. This bunch of ruffians took the stage and put on an impressive show. Featuring Shavo Odadjian, basist of System of a Down, they cranked out all the classics and said a prayer for Old Dirty Bastard, everybody's favorite rapping hobo.

Here's a brief clip of their family-friendly yet grammatically incorrect classic, "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta Fuck Wit":



Good wholesome entertainment.

Cypress Hill

As soon as these guys hit the stage, the doobies went a-blazin' and a cloud of smoke rose into the air. Apparently they're into smoking marijuanas.

Despite what the public access commercials tell you, drugs did not seem to inhibit the performance abilities of these guys. Their set was great and I was thoroughly entertained.

Here's a clip of them singing a song about how, if necessary, they could just kill a man:



I couldn't help but notice the gigantic Buddha statue with a pot leaf on it. If the real Buddha saw this, I bet he'd be pissed.

Public Enemy

It's always good to see these guys in action. They remind us of a simpler time when wearing a clock around one's neck was edgy and original. The best part? Not once during the show did I wonder what time it was. Yeah, boy.

Joining them on stage for their classic "Bring the Noise" was Anthrax's Scott Ian:

(He's the white guy with the pink beard)

It was cool to see these guys, who've been around for a good 20 years and have dominated the VH1 celebrity reality circuit. Can you think of a better way to spend an evening than watching a bunch of whores fight over who's going to sleep with Flavor Flav? I can't.

Also present at the concert was The Roots and Mos Def, who gave his finest performance since "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I was hard at work in the beer garden for both of these sets, but they sounded damn fine.

And so the tale has come to an end. Don't forget to keep fighting the man.