“I’ve got a brother that’s coming down with some dogs, so hopefully that’ll scare them away if they decide to do anything.”
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For local rock fans it was a dream come true. In 1996, in the midst of their Evil Empire tour, Rage Against The Machine were booked to play a 9000 cap show at the local fairground in their small, sleepy town.
Sadly, we’re not sure there actually were any rock fans in the highly conservative town of Spanish Fork, Utah. Instead, there were utterly terrified and bewildered locals who barricaded their homes, braced for riots and even organised a protest to have the concert cancelled. Yes, really.
In the incredible local TV news piece, below, one Spanish Fork resident tells reporters, "I'm concerned there might be a riot or something. It kind of scares me, that's why I'm getting out of here!" while another says, “I’ve got a brother that’s coming down with some dogs, so hopefully that’ll scare them away if they decide to do anything.” Truly incredible stuff.
City officials claim they booked RATM before they realised exactly how political and potentially offensive the band were, however one incredible rumour that still persists to this day is that they thought the name ‘Rage Against The Machine’ must be a monster truck show and the band were booked by mistake. We really, reeeally want to believe that’s true.
According to local news outlet Deseret News, residents said they “feared the lyrics will be heard well beyond the fairground's wooden fences as well as the rocker fans that would be there”. They were also genuinely concerned about “lawsuits that could result if someone is killed.” To be fair, those Rage moshpits were pretty savage.
The local news reporting was equally as endearing when covering the aftermath of the entirely incident-free show, saying, “It was a festive atmosphere, but some residents considered it more of a freak show. R. Jenkins sat on her porch with her neighbours and watched as young people wearing long chains and bright red and green spiked hair streamed past. She compared the hairstyles to a rooster's comb. Some were half-dressed, she said. A few sported multiple earrings, lip rings, nose rings, even tongue rings – fashion statements residents here don't often see. At least one concert goer asked if he could use her bathroom. He couldn't.”
Weirdly, the town of Spanish Fork still stands today, having not been utterly destroyed by the renegades of funk. Strange that, isn’t it?
