Photo: Timothy Norris

It is a new year and a new administration, but that could lead to a collective sigh of relief for only so long … because, you see, there is still so very much justice to be served. Tom Morello’s Justice Tour 2009 has been a great reminder of that fact in three cities this year so far … and if last Saturday night’s crowd at L.A.’s Henry Fonda Theater was a finger to the wind, the People are still plenty riled up for that elusive Change.

The line wound around the building, as word always gets out about these shows and their galactic line-ups, and they sell out and then some every time. Excitement for the show felt like one of those thick old-school arena rock brews of tension and fun at the same time. There was even a guy in full sailor garb, lending more confusion to what decade we could be transported to inside this lovely old theater - in a great way. You’ll see what I mean:

The room was smoke-filled and dramatic, both from effects and real as the curtain went up on The Nightwatchman Tom and his Freedom Fighter Orchestra (Carl Restivo, Eric Gardner and Jonny Polonsky, with special guest, Mr. Wayne Kramer of the mighty MC5). Setting the tone for the evening, like the retreating intro to a Star Wars film, Tom opened with a speech, that this week they “Have been putting a big dent in homelessness through rock and roll. We are here to bail out People, not Banks!”. Met with a ROAR from the crowd … maybe wars, prison torture, Katrina, etc etc can be moved on from in some folks’ minds (HOW?!), but they do not like their pocketbooks messed with. This might be a good area to start the Change - within ourselves, no? Compassion. It begins, and continues, with us.

In fact, “It begins TONIGHT!”, yelled Tom before launching into a rocking new song titled exactly that. It featured a signature Morello guitar solo that set off the night of Rock that was 100% (!) going to benefit the PATH Organization the Justice Tour befriended last year in its maiden voyage {see www.nightwatchmanmusic.com - scroll down to get the background story}. They are a key weapon in the fight (and it is a fight) to help L.A.’s at least 75,000 homeless each night. You could tell Tom and the band were all fired up to be back with the hometown crowd. Then Bam! Into the rousing familiar chords to “Whatever It Takes”, which the heavily male crowd (and artist roster too, come to think of it, ahem) highly dug. “The Lights Are On In Spidertown” and its “di-Di-DI!” chorus got everybody all Pub-like singing along, ratcheting up the rowdy a big notch. Tom whipped off a flamenco-stylie acoustic solo that got a whole bunch of raised fists and “YEAH’s!” from the fellas and girls who can whistle. Which only increased when Tom mentioned a few of the acts to come, including a mass freakout at the name “Slash”. It was O.N.

The Nightwatchman brought up Corey Taylor from Slipknot next, as someone who he said was the first person to sign up when Tom started playing acoustic and singing as the Nightwatchman, to help out at a grocery workers strike. The Nightwatchman does not forget a favor. Corey, with no mask, even took requests, in the jamboree manner that these memorable nights can and will be. Corey shared that he knew what it was like to live on the streets and you could feel some of that edge as he sang Tom Petty’s “You Got Lucky” and the Stones’ “Wild Horses”.

This movable feast has many different flavors, and that is one of the best things about it. Tom emceed his way back and said that next was the singer of “one of my favorite bands in the world” and brought on Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello. This gypsy punk rocker will bring the energy and did so with his “Immigrant Punk” song, and you-can’t- help-but-compare-it-to-Borat singing style. It is music that will always get the party started, and more frenzied, which it did with “Wanderlust King”. I love that title, and it perfectly embodies the feelings stirred up in you as you clap along. Happy, and FREE!

In a left turn into another universal plane, Shooter Jennings took the stage to LOUD hoots, hollers, whistles and raised beer glasses (All me, I don’t know what anyone else was up to). Tom stayed on stage this time, to back up Shooter in his version of Audioslave’s “I Am The Highway”, which in all honesty, seems more made for Shooter. His gravely howl and Tom’s electric twang on this one demand that you give up everything and get on the great tour bus of life. Immediately. You agree to this in your head and then are jolted back by Shooter relaying the story of how the previous day, as the Justice Tour goes, the artists involved with tonight’s show all went down to the PATH facility downtown and served a meal and hung out with the residents, some of whom were present tonight. That met one of the loudest ovations of the night, and my hope for humanity again soared.

Shooter and Tom (with Wayne Kramer on backup guitar, I might add) dedicated “The Ghost of Tom Joad” to those new friends from PATH, and their delivery of the Boss classic was as goose-bump inducing as the YouTube video of Tom tearing up that Anaheim stage with Bruce himself last year. The Rage-style solo with over the top guitar-neck play made those video game players present in the house salivate into their plastic cups (that I was again moved by my fellow species when I saw a big plastic cup given to the fully decked-out sailor by more than one other patron. Respect.). And Shooter again made this one his own. I overheard this as being the highlight of the night for a bunch of guys, it really was that good.

Blessed to be along on last year’s Justice Tour, I had a head-start in knowing about the new, and about to EXPLODE band, Street Sweeper. This is the way you used to feel when you heard someone epic the first time (many of whom were still about to play on this night).This is the genius duo of our Ringmaster of the evening, Mr. Morello, with Bay Area social justice truthsayer , Boots Riley. You are all about to REALLY know about them when they go along on the NIN/JA (Yes. That means Nine Inch Nails. And Jane’s Addiction. You are not hallucinating, at least as far as this tour is concerned. And Street Sweeper. If you have a job still, just take the day off of work the day after that one).

They started with the first single/riler-upper, “Fight. Smash. Win!”, Boots laying down the rhymes and inimitable dance moves, and Tom providing the guitar pyrotechnics. I would’ve liked to have heard the vocals a little better, because they’re a real highlight of any time spent being dazzled by Boots, but still - they’re all set for fans already, trust me. The one I can never get out of my head by these two is the military march demand to get the fists in the air, “100 Little Pieces”. “Whoa-oh-OH-oh!” is still what I’m humming as I brush my teeth two days later. The Streetsweeper finale of the set was MIA’s “Paper Airplanes”. Once again this was a night when I was preferring a cover version of a song, and that rarely happens for me. Tom inventing the gun shots and cash register plink was both humorous and damn inventive, per usual on the latter. He joked that the People’s Price of $15 to PATH was “$1 per hour of the show”. That may have been a slight exaggeration, but per superstar was not.

The Nightwatchman’s “First party jam”, rocked the place next with the lighter-hearted “Shake My Shit” that finds your host not only doing an eye-rubbing guitar solo - with his teeth - but also unafraid to get his dance jam on. Normally a bit starched L.A. show-goers were joining him in the shit-shaking, and there was a tangible feeling that this was where the Party was AT.

Jerry Cantrell sauntered out next to a big round of “JERRY!” yells, that were only heightened when he in turn had Slash saunter out! That dude is just Cool, and its highly appreciated, you can tell. They treated the crowd to Alice’s “Brother” - gorgeous - and then brought back Corey Taylor to join them on “Wish You Were Here”. They may not have had much chance to practice, as at first Slash seemed unsure of when to join in. Jerry summed up the Slash reverence when he said, “You’re fucking Slash, start whenever you want”. It, too - sublime. The lovely harmonies were duly captured by every arm in the joint holding up a camera phone … it was that All-Time feeling. But we were truly only about half-ish done!

THEN Lemmy Kilmister came on to let you know that Sunset Strip rock was alive and well. One metallic song and then a Chuck Berry boogie about living in the USA. And it is nights like this that make you go hell, YEAH, I live in the USA - the one that belongs to the PEOPLE. Hear that!?!

Speaking of Sunset Strip rock, Sen Dog of the mofo CYPRESS HILL was back this year to remind us that we are all “INSANE In The Membrane!” and that morphed into “Kill A Man”, which became “Rock Superstar”. By now people were just stunned into putting down their phones for a second to just jump up and down and smile at their friends that they were both at this dang show.

Corey Taylor came up to sing lead on “Play That Funky Music, White Boy” which turned into a fully funky jam between all these rock legends that had everyone dancing like it was The Apollo. Whose show was probably on t.v. by now, this sensation of a show was lasting so long … but no one wanted it to end. Especially not when Corey Taylor said, “This is the weirdest fucking life I’ve ever known”, as he brought back everyone to back up Slash and himself as they TORE UP GNR’s “It’s So Easy”. Tom said it perfectly when he bounced up and down with both fists raised at the end of that assault and said, “THAT’S exciting!” The Slash solo alone … Man.

Wayne Kramer, another alumnus of the Inaugural 2008 Justice Tour, thanked Tom in word “for his commitment to social justice. I am proud of him as a friend and as a brother in the fight”, and in deed, by saying it was “Time. To. KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKER!” and the entire line-up of the night was back up there doing just that. Eugene was going bezerk screaming and dancing, but he was only reflecting the audience when they saw Tom, Wayne, Slash and Jerry with their backs up against each other in a Guitar Solo Summit. “We DONE KICKED ‘EM OUT” was perhaps a bit of an understatement - they were DESTROYED, those Jams!

The penultimate throw-down was back to Slash territory for “Paradise City”, only in this playing, the vocals were done by Sen Dog. It takes the straight up rock of the original and urbanizes it to a degree of hard that is even thrasher than the first time you heard it. People were out of their faces with that singular joy that you only get from having been witness to a Rock And Roll Moment. Tom, Tom Morello himself, was jumping up and down with a smile on his face that mirrored the bliss of the surging crowd. It was Metal.

To go from that to the traditional Justice Tour closer, Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” may sound a little schizophrenic, but in reality, it only enhances the feeling that both bring - FREEDOM. That you will FIGHT for. That it is up to US to continue to bring about change, and the whole point of Justice - that this land IS OURS. When failed Bankers are getting bonuses, while children are homeless on the streets TONIGHT in OUR CITY, there is overt and in your face work to be done. Times are hard, but we all go down if we forget our humanity. These are absolutely the MOST important times to remember it!

So if you could donate to the Axis of Just-Ettes on your way out in gratitude for this tour de The Force. Or Volunteer your time with someplace like PATH that is actually DOING SOMETHING for change, or even just “Rock The Fuck Out for this last song” in homage to the tour motto. It all makes a difference. And so we did. With Tom, Wayne, Corey, Shooter, Eugene and Boots all taking verses, including the long-censored ones for “MY People”, and the lights turned on bright “like when you’re sweeping the floors, so I can see that everyone is singing as loud as anyone has ever sung MUSIC in Hollywood, California!” - the people did as demanded. And it was again moving beyond belief. Hollywood is not known for its audience participation, nor its heart-on-its-sleeve patriotism, but you’d have thought we were at a 4th of July parade in the Bible Belt, so wound up and heartily singing and jumping were the Citizens. You kind of had to be there to believe it, but I swear you could see hearts swelling through hipster t’s (and sailor suits) with pride for what it feels like to stand up for what YOU believe in - The Rock, of course, but also Your Land.

Thanking Project Noise for again sponsoring the ultra-inspiring Justice Tour and its kaleidoscope of good people coming together to DEMAND CHANGE. To DEMAND JUSTICE, Tom then screamed himself hoarse reminding us to “NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE IN, NO ONE WINS UNLESS WE ALL WIN” in perhaps the most true statement for NOW possible. And then it was over, leaving people to walk out shaking their heads and laughing over their sweet footage for their blog … but also stopping by the Axis of Justice and PATH tables to see how they could get more involved. Seeing that, I was left with more chills at the powers of Change - as more than just a catch-phrase, but as an actual happening. Because of us doing. And because of YOU caring. And because of what can happen when we all join in that “Taking it easy, but TAKING it” BACK spirit together.

View: Photo slideshow from L.A. Weekly