Rage Against The Machine originally released their live album
Democratic National Convention 2000 on vinyl in 2018. Now six years later, the Democratic National Convention 2000 has finally hit streaming services just ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The story behind Democratic National Convention 2000 is pretty nuts, too. Rage Against The Machine's show was originally denied by the city of Los Angeles officials, who were concerned about the lyrics on Rage Against The Machine's record The Battle Of Los Angeles.
A judge then ruled that the city couldn't make Rage Against The Machine play in a small venue down the road, and allowed them to play the protest zone outside the Democratic National Convention. The show went on but had a twelve-foot fence, about 2,000 cops in riot gear, police helicopters, and everything else you can think of when you think "American police forces going way overboard."
"In the summer of 2000, less than a year after the release of The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against The Machine waged their own battle of Los Angeles, staging an incendiary concert in protest of the American political party system across from the Staples Center while the Democratic National Convention was held inside," wrote the Record Store Day website of the release.
Stream it below. You can also check out fan-filmed footage of the show below as well. It's pretty wild.