The Nightwatchman to Take Up Post at the Factory

When most rock fans think of Tom Morello, they probably think of Rage Against the Machine. Some might think of Audioslave. Very few will think of Morello's folk-rock alter-ego, The Nightwatchman (MySpace). But when Rage Against the Machine—always voraciously political and activist, both personally and musically—gave way to the apolitical Audioslave, the outspoken and outrageously intelligent Morello sought an outlet to express his politics musically. That outlet first came in the form of playing original folk-inspired protest songs at a Los Angeles coffee house open mic night. And there, The Nightwatchman project came to be.

Morello has described The Nightwatchman as "the black Robin Hood of 21st century music," and "a reaction against illicit wars, a reaction against first strikes, torture, secret prisons, spying illegally on American citizens" and so on and so forth (via Wikipedia). We first took note of Morello's prowess beyond the hard rock realm of Rage and Audioslave when we heard his contribution to "The Ghost of Tom Joad" on Bruce Springsteen's Magic Tour Highlights. That grabbed our attention because we had never particularly liked that song originally.

Morello, as The Nightwatchman, has now put out two albums, One Man Revolution and the recently-released The Fabled City. While One Man Revolution seems to be something of a one-trick pony, a tribute album to the protest-song troubadours of the early-to-mid 20th century, The Fabled City is a hard-edged update of protest rock, both familiar and new all at once. With The Fabled City, Morello brings protest music into the 21st century, and makes real protest rock.

If you think of Morello only in the context of his Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave work, we strongly suggest you make your way to the Electric Factory tonight, where The Nightwatchman will be the co-headliner of what should be a top-to-bottom outstanding protest/revolution music show. Joining Morello in the lineup are Michael Franti & Spearhead, funk-rapper Boots Riley of The Coup, and Jamaican actress-turned-raggae singer Cherine Anderson. It should be some great music, and some food for thought as well.

Michael Franti & Spearhead and Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman, with Boots Riley and Cherine Anderson
Tonight, Thurs., 11/20/08
Electric Factory, 421 N. 7th Street
8:30 p.m. (Doors 7:30 p.m.)
Tickets: $25