Rage Against The Machine - Finsbury Park, London
Those nice Rage chaps put on a free gig in London
Certainly, as a fan of Rage Against The Machine a decade ago, this particular writer thought he'd never see the day they'd get to number one in the charts. It was a total fantasy - how could a band as abrasive and political as Rage ever trouble the top of the charts? That all changed when the anti-Simon Cowell, anti-X Factor Facebook campaign captured the imagination of rock fans everywhere, catapulting the sweary 'Killing In The Name Of' to the top of the charts and annoying parents anywhere for a second time.
In retrospect, there was a lot of ugly 'This is real music! Pop is rubbish!' rhetoric flying around at the time - both have their place in the grand scheme of things - but it really did feel like a victory against force-fed, media-manipulated reality show fluff.
It's evident at this Finsbury Park show - a free, 'thank you' show from Rage to their fans - that 'Killing In The Name Of' spread far wider than a few thousand rock fans. There's middle aged yuppies, hipsters, plenty of goths and just about every subculture and demographic you can imagine. No doubt the zero pence ticket price had something to do with it, but still: this is Rage Against The Machine. Hardly the most accessible band ever.
Gallows, Roots Manuva and Gogol Bordello put in respectable support slots, but it's Zack and co everyone's here to see. Though the sound leaves a lot to be desired, the atmosphere and sheer energy they create is just as awesome as it was ten years ago. They plough through the 'hits': 'Testify', 'Bombtrack', 'Know Your Enemy', 'Sleep Now In The Fire' - and the massive disappointment at 'Wake Up's absence from the setlst is offset by a genuinely heartwarming moment when it's revealed charity Shelter will be receiving a cheque for £160,000. It's the promised royalties from 'Killing's chart-topping reign, and even the miserable goths to our left look moved for a moment. When they do finally air 'Killing In The Name Of' at the end of the show it's brutal, triumphant and beautiful. It's also a reminder that, Facebook campaigns aside, Rage Against The Machine are one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Rage could have easily turned this into a boring, anti-corporate rally against industry bogeymen like Simon Cowell. Instead, the event felt fun and celebratory: proving that rock music really can still change people's opinions, bring people together and do positive things.
We've collated some of the best of the fan videos from Saturday's show. Check them out below for some of our selected highlights.
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