Back at the Snake Eyes stage, Umphrey’s McGee played as the day transitioned into night. The sky was a great mix of purple and orange when they started. A haze covered the entire audience in what appeared to be an attempt to recreate the smoke-filled auditorium from the back of Kiss Alive! Hands down the highest percentage of stoners were active during this set. UM was good but not enough to make them stand out from the line-up. Too many longs songs blurred together and didn’t engage the crowd well. In one instrumental there was a bit of The Beatles “Norwegian Wood” and their best song of the set was their new tune, “Wizard Burial Ground,” an awesome hybrid of Metallica and ELP. The song opens with a relentless attack powered by the drums and bass, before giving way to wild keyboards and a wicked guitar solo. The whole thing sounds like a battle has taken place. The song gets softer in the middle, led by gentle keyboards, but it builds up in intensity, and closes as it began. No doubt the band’s fans dug what they were hearing, but a festival is a place to make new fans and I was surprised they didn’t play more accessible music.

On the Double Down Stage, the trio Muse compelled the audience to dance with their infectious grooves and fuzzed-out guitars. They take elements from different genres and make a unique sound that has something for everyone. Kudos to the drummer who was wearing a Spider-Man bodysuit.

Once Muse was over, everyone began to advance forward, filling every vacant spot in anticipation of Rage Against The Machine. When they hit the stage, there was a minor surge of people. The band delivered a killer set of their hits, almost the exact one from Coachella, and the audience devoured it. Too bad the energy coming off the band and audience couldn’t have been harnessed; it would have powered a casino for a few nights.

Unfortunately, most of the Rage audience is just there for the intense music, which is outstanding, but is apparently too stupid to comprehend the lyrics. They miss the message of many of the songs about us all working together as a community as they selfishly push you aside so they can get to the front. Nor do they work to make society better. Instead, their only form of revolting against the system is downloading albums.