Recap and Photos: “Frostbite And Freedom Tour” at the Monona Terrace
Mark Riechers
Frostbite was much less likely Tuesday night at the Monona Terrace.
After days of having its protests at the Capitol building fall on deaf ears from the current gubernatorial administration, a large crowd of people in Monona Terrace found some welcome support Monday night. But it wasn’t so much about finally getting a chance to be heard, but rather about getting a chance to hear what they wanted.
For what was retroactively dubbed the “Frostbite And Freedom Tour,” which included a much chillier performance on the Capitol steps earlier in the day, Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello’s solo acoustic-folk outfit The Nightwatchman laced up its protesting boots and made the trek to the badger state with one thing on its mind: “I’m coming to Madison, Wisconsin, because the people in Madison, Wisconsin are making history.”
But despite Morello’s best attempts at turning the crowd’s bubbling unrest into productive discourse, the true champion of the night was probably MC5’s Wayne Kramer. More than 42 years after recording one of punk rock’s true watershed albums, he roared through a two-song set on acoustic guitar before leading a chorus of performers through his record’s titular track, “Kick Out The Jams.” His set was the most brief, but his songs of political masking and societal dissolution were the most apt commentaries on Madison’s current disposition, avoiding the general pedantic flair of politically minded rock.
As the night’s first performer, Ike Reilly’s locomotive acoustic was rousing, but his decision to adopt Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” was ill-conceived, and saved only by his brief inclusion of The Clash’s “Know Your Rights.”
Boston’s Street Dogs must have known as much, as they followed with a cover of Marley’s “Redemption Song” modeled more after Joe Strummer’s Streetcore version.
Morello said he listened to a lot of the Clash on his trip to Madison, too, and one song in particular was indebted to the band’s late frontman. During “Maximum Firepower,” Morello sang, “If you take a step toward freedom, it takes two steps toward you,” which must have been what was happening when he later invited the entire crowd onstage for his final song.
The impromptu rally presented a stark contrast from Morello’s involvement in The Sound Strike, an organized boycott of Arizona to protest its immigration reform bill, SB 1070. But Morello’s stance in Wisconsin proved more fulfilling. This time he made it clear that, “If you need The Nightwatchman, he’ll be back.” I guess we’ll see how it goes.
