ZACK DE LA ROCHA's ONE DAY AS A LION Performs Live For First Time

July 20, 2010

ONE DAY AS A LION, the project featuring Zack De La Rocha (vocalist for RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE) and Jon Theodore (former drummer of THE MARS VOLTA),played its first pair of shows ever this past weekend in California — on Saturday, July 17 at Aladdin Jr., a tiny Middle Eastern restaurant in Pomona; and on Sunday, July 18 at Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock.

In his review of the Pomona concert, Mikael Wood of RollingStone.com writes, "ONE DAY AS A LION's 50-minute set contained everything from the band's EP — including the heavy-swinging 'Wild International' and LED ZEP-like 'If You Fear Dying', both of which received enthusiastic singalongs — as well as unreleased material presumably drawn from an upcoming full-length. One new track rode a menacing two-note synth riff that recalled the SUICIDE sample in M.I.A.'s 'Born Free'; another featured an unlikely jazz-punk interlude with loads of cymbal-tapping action from Theodore. Throughout the show, Karam made his bank of vintage keyboards sound uncannily like a guitar, a neat inversion of RAGE axman Tom Morello's trademark guitar-as-synth trick."

Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times wrote in her review of the Eagle Rock show, "[De la Rocha's] lyrics in ONE DAY AS A LION don't veer too far from what he offers in RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE — in songs like 'Wild International' and 'Ocean View', he turned hip-hop boasting into a form of prophecy, calling out corrupt clerics and government agents while declaring his music a call to action. His fans, many clad in political T-shirts with slogans such as 'Do I Look Illegal To You?,' relished his every revolutionary word.

"De la Rocha explored new vocal possibilities within this new musical framework. He sang more, achieving an almost Bob Marley-esque clarity on one new song, and screeching mightily in another. Without Tom Morello's gatling-gun guitar and the plutonium-weight RAGE rhythm section behind him, de la Rocha seemed freer, if not always as powerfully directed."

Fan-filmed video footage of both shows can be viewed below.

Saturday, July 17, 2010 at Aladdin Jr. in Pomona, California:

Sunday, July 18, 2010 at Center for the Arts in Eagle Rock, California:

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