DNC recap

_ 8/27: Rage Against the Machine, The Coup, State Radio and Flobots played the Tent State Music Festival to End the War for 9,000 people @ the Denver Colisuem. Tickets were free if you won some from Tent State University in a lottery, but on the day of the show, the people at the door weren't really checking tickets, so pretty much anyone who decided to give it a whirl and walk in could get in.

Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys served as one of the MCs in between sets. "I can't believe just how undemocratic the Democratic Party is," he said during one break before Flobots came out. "Do you know how much money they spent on security?" ($50 million, was the budget, btw) "They could've spent it on building houses for homeless people." Another mc led the throngs in a chant of, "They're our brothers, they're our sisters, We support war resisters."

Ron Kovic (the guy Tom Cruise played in Born on the Fourth of July) got cheers when he took the stage. "This is our country. They're not going to take our country from us," he said.

Flobots took the stage. Brer Rabbit did some break dancin moves and also did the man splits.

Before Rage came out, with a black cloth hanging from the back with a red star on it, veterans came out and said some words. Rage saluted the vets. By this time, it was about 2 p.m. The crowd on the floor pushed toward the stage, and some people flew down the stairs of the coliseum stands down to the floor. Hey, it's a Rage show. It was all dark inside, and Zack de la Rocha even said, "Good evening, I mean, good afternoon." No liquor was served, so that may have saved everyone. But anyways, they came out and played Guerilla Radio, Testify and Pocket Full of Shells. Wayne Kramer (MC5, who played at the national convention in Chicago in '68) joined Rage for "Kick Out the Jams." He had on white jeans, a white button down and a T-shirt from Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Backstage, Kramer was saying that in '68, they were protesting the Vietnam War, which he says the U.S. was lied into and now we're in Iraq, another war we were lied into. Things have changed in terms of protests though. "Trying to use the tactics of the '60s, while I'm sure they are exciting for those involved, are ineffective," Kramer said backstage. "Authorities have learned their lessons well. They control information better than any time before. ... They know how to control crowds. They have a lot of high tech equipment and they can't wait to use it. The old paradigm is ineffective now. We need a new way to exercise our rights as set out by the framers.
"Change starts from the bottom up. Barack Obama is not going to be the messiah. He's not going to save us. We have to save ourselves. Change has to happen in our own neighborhoods, our own workplace, our own schools. It literally is power to the people."
He said he's no different from 40 years ago. "I'm still critical of contradictions and abuses of power. I'm still a champion of human rights and of peace and justice in the world. How could I ever change that.
"This is a struggle that will never end. All any of us is trying to do is move the country forward."

Immediately after the show, Flobots and The Coup frontman Boots Riley marched in the Iraq Veterans Against the War protest from the Coliseum to the Pepsi Center with an estimated 3,500-4,000 of the concert goers and other protesters. Brer Rabbit, Jonny 5, Jesse and Andy were spotted near the front, plus a couple members of Rage Against the Machine for a short time. That march is a nearly 4-mile route, folks. And they had no permit, but police worked with protesters, keeping them safe and blocking traffic in way of the protesters' planned route. No reported arrests. People from businesses along the route came out to look. Some left ice cubes and water, some sold water to the protesters, because it was sunny and HOT. Plus, you figure everyone just came from sweating their butts off during the 4-hour music fest, ending with Rage Against the Machine. Some (including Flobots) hadn't had anything to eat and only a little bit to drink. Funny side note: an anti-porn group's truck on its way somewhere else somehow got stuck in a line of police vans trailing the protesters and couldn't get out, so they ended up following the protest marchers. (all ended peacefully...can read more on the protest here)

That evening, outside Manifest Hope Gallery on an outdoor stage at the corner of 30th and Larimer was Unconventional '08. I missed it on account of I was still recovering from the march. But I caught up with it for the VIP party inside the gallery. The organizers handed out VIP tickets earlier in the week, but looks like most of the people who got in early were Denver hipsters who knew someone who knew someone who could get them inside. That meant a long line of people with VIP tickets having to stand in line outside on the off chance anyone inside decided to leave. Doors were at 9, and Shepard Fairey was DJing, with everything from Mariah Carey to 80s rap. But I don't think Sarah Silverman took the stage til 11p or something. On John McCain, she said, He may be a war hero, but not of this war. She also talked of going to a Barack fundraiser, seeing Obama and trying to come up with an intelligent question to ask. So she went over to ask the question. "He said something really interesting. He said, 'I'm Kanye West.'" Ben from Death Cab for Cutie and Zooey Deschanel sang. Anyway, among the folks attending were filmmaker Qasim Basir (who filmed the Yes We Can shorts on YouTube that support Obama), Christy from ManiaTV. Ben was just playing on acoustic guitar, and with the mood quickly switching from hobnob-with-drinks-and-art to lullaby time, and people started cuttin' for the door.

Graffiti artists were busy in Denver. You know those billboards the Republicans put up around town that said MLK was a Republican? DUring the week, at least one was written over with MLK was an Obama man. Then overnight Wed into Thurs, they were painting an Obama portrait onto the brick wall on 20th and Stout