On June 16th, Tom Morello, B-Real, Pussy Riot, K.Flay, and The Neighborhood Kids played a sold-out show at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. The show was put together as a response to the recent ICE raids happening in the United States. All of the proceeds went to benefit The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles that empowers and promotes freedom of movement, full human rights, and participatory democracy in order to achieve a fully inclusive society of immigrants. Founded in 1986, it has become one of the largest advocates for immigrant rights. While the show was announced only three days prior, it sold out in approximately four minutes.
Largely considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Tom Morello is still at the top of his game, and it doesn’t look like he plans on stopping anytime soon. He is best known as a founding and integral member of the bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Morello also puts out solo work under his own name and as the Nightwatchman, and he was a member of supergroups Prophets of Rage and Street Sweeper Social Club. At this show, he was backed by his fellow members of The Freedom Fighters Orchestra: Carl Restivo, Eric Gardner, and Dave Gibbs.
Starting off the show, The Neighborhood Kids kicked the crowd into gear with their in-your-face, politically charged hip-hop. Founded in 2020 in San Diego, musicians Verde and Amon the MC are young but powered by generations before them, using their music to promote awareness of the issues they face and to inspire others. Their music deals with subjects such as immigration, war, racism, hypocrisy, and freedom. They are not afraid to say what someone else might not, and don’t shy away from being confrontational and assertive. During their song “KIDS IN THE CAGES,” they started a chant saying “get them kids up out the cages” with the crowd screaming it back. They also played “AND THE KIDS SAY,” about children that have been abused and trafficked, the first song that the band created together. The Neighborhood Kids are on the rise, but were mostly unknown to the crowd of majority Tom Morello fans. That being said, the audience was immediately warm to them and it was one of the most energetic crowd responses the whole show.
After that, the event’s host, actor and comedian George Lopez, came out and cracked some jokes. He introduced Pussy Riot, a Russian activist group that protests, does performance art, and makes punk rock music. There are numerous women that are members, and many of them have been arrested, attacked, and imprisoned for their performances. They prefer anonymity, usually wearing brightly colored balaclavas and using aliases. One of the founding members, Nadezhda Andreyevna “Nadya” Tolokonnikova, performed with a backing band, all wearing pink balaclavas. She introduced herself to the crowd and talked about how she was in prison for two years and that it “sucks.” Pussy Riot’s hardcore rave-like sound and anti-police lyrics inspired multiple mosh pits and fired the crowd up.
George Lopez came out once again (wearing a pink balaclava) and introduced K.Flay, the next artist. K.Flay is a singer/songwriter and rapper from Illinois and has collaborated with Morello previously on “TGIF,” which she played. She has a genre-defying style that incorporates hip-hop, pop, and rock, with an indie feel. She played “The President Has A Sex Tape,” off of her second studio album “Every Where Is Some Where,” along with “Blood In The Cut” and “Black Wave,” the latter being about facing something immense and frightening, but is a rallying cry to rise up against it instead of shrinking away. In the middle of her set, she made a simple beat and looped it with a gradual increase in tempo, and told the audience she was going to freestyle and try to keep up with the speed. She did exactly that for about two minutes to the point where she was rapping so fast there was no time to breathe. While the crowd was relatively unfamiliar with K.Flay, they loved her energy and her erratic dance moves.
Next, George Lopez introduced B-Real, most known as a member of Cypress Hill since 1991. His work with supergroups Serial Killers and Prophets of Rage is also notable, as well as his solo career. He has a distinctive rapping style using a high pitched, nasally voice that is easily recognizable. Once on stage, he said he might as well do two songs about the police at the same time, launching into Cypress Hill’s “Pigs,” mashed up with KRS-One’s “Sound of Da Police.” The whole set, the crowd was in tune with him, performing the call-and-response parts of each song perfectly. Before playing Cypress Hill’s mega-hit “Insane in the Brain,” B-Real lit up a joint, the crowd going wild for the iconic song. He closed with “How I Could Just Kill A Man,” Cypress Hill’s first-ever single.
With a little over an hour to midnight, after a long but energizing night, Tom Morello took the stage. The entire set was whiplash from incredible guitar solo to legendary song to the next one. The crowd went ballistic for a Rage Against the Machine medley of “Testify,” “Take the Power Back,” “Freedom,” and “Snakecharmer.” Morello brought K.Flay back out for a live debut of “Weatherstrike,” their energy completely matching each other on stage. In an ode to Woody Guthrie, Morello played “This Land Is Your Land,” which he takes to a much heavier level. A Tom Morello show is probably the only place you will find a mosh pit to the folk legend’s iconic song. The Neighborhood Kids came on stage to perform it with him and had everyone jumping around. After that was another medley of RATM songs, including “Cochise” by Audioslave. It was finished with “Like A Stone,” which Morello dedicated to his late friend and Audioslave bandmate Chris Cornell, leaving the mic open for him. The crowd was shouting various forms of “thank you” once it was over. This is the third time I’ve been in the audience for this portion of his set and it still brings tears to my eyes. Later, Morello brought B-Real back out to perform “(Rock) Superstar” with him and followed that up with RATM’s “Killing in the Name,” his backing band letting the crowd scream the lyrics without any help. For the final song of the night, all of the previous performers came back to the stage for John Lennon’s “Power to the People,” an uplifting closure to a night of an incredible display of community.
GALLERY: DEFEND LA at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, California (June 16, 2025)
