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“Wherever somebody’s strugglin’ to be free…”
Tom Morello amazes and confounds with solo alter-ego “The Nightwatchman”
By Alex Rewey
Calling opener Boots back to the stage to make the Wisconsin debut of the duo’s collaboration “Streetsweeper,” Morello seemed to quickly return to the electric infused funk metal roots of his rise to fame.
Guitarist Tom Morello is a man of many masks. There’s the critically lauded experimental guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. There’s the Harvard-educated social activist known for his work for human rights and fair business practices. And now Morello has added a new and unexpected mask to his repertoire, the mask of a folk rebel.
On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Morello brought his solo act “The Nightwatchman” to Milwaukee Turner Hall Ballroom with folk and hip-hop openers Ike Reilly and Boots Reilly, respectively.
Emerging before an enormous eerily red-and-green colored American flag, the aviator and suspender donning Morello finally took the stage before the hundreds of attendees.
Admittedly battling a newly contracted Midwest cold, Morello soldiered through The Nightwatchman’s burgeoning catalogue beginning aptly with “One Man Revolution,” the title track of his 2007 debut.
“The thing I love about folk music is that you can take familiar melodies and give them new topical lyrics. For instance, this next song combines my love for Australian heavy metal and my disdain for the foreign policies of the Bush Administration,” said Morello before moving quickly into a reworked arrangement of AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.”
Initially backed by a traditional rock rhythm section, “The Freedom Fighter Orchestra,” Morello used the opportunity to showcase a bit of the electric proficiency of days with Rage Against the Machine, even repeatedly teasing the audience with verbatim riffs, intros and solos overlain his new material.
As Morello moved into the solo portion of the evening with songs like “The King of Hell,” and “Union Song” a visibly ill and struggling Morello baritone voice cracked frequently.
Calling opener Boots back to the stage to make the Wisconsin debut of the duo’s collaboration “Streetsweeper,” Morello seemed to quickly return to the electric infused funk metal roots of his rise to fame. Yet, the coupling of Boots’ unconventional storytelling hip-hop delivery with Morello’s own affinity for revisiting familiar sonic territory made for a nostalgic, yet teasingly invocative “Faux Rage” guest spot.
As a tribute to perhaps The Nightwatchman’s greatest influence, Morello performed his newly personalized rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” sounding like a hybrid between Springsteen’s quiet original and conversely, Rage’s raucous interpretation from 2000’s “Renegades.”
One of the night’s stranger moments came as Morello moved into his lo-fi tribute to his late aunt, “St. Isabelle,” which found him alone onstage banging a hand drum for rhythm.
Perhaps as a way to distance himself as an artist, the only full Rage cover Morello came as a bluesy acoustic rendition of “Guerilla Radio” from 1999’s “The Battle of Los Angeles” laced with an awkward harmonica accompaniment.
During another politically charged reworking of Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band,” which he encouraged audience members to follow the credo of the newly formed pseudo-fan club “The Nightwatchman Brigade:” “Feed the poor, fight the power, and rock the fuck out,” said Morello.
Bypassing the formalities of a delayed encore, Morello moved into Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is your Land” complete with what he described as the song’s banned politically subversive lyrics.
The song came as a fitting, albeit old fashioned finale for a musician so known for his contributions to progressive guitar experimentation. Despite Morello’s notable departure from his previous sound, one couldn’t help but admire his passion for paying tributes to the political and musical rebels who have influenced him.
“Nobody wins unless we all win,” cried Morello.
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