It was no accident that on tax-reckoning day, the same day Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was holding a forum in downtown L.A. to address the Golden State's buckling economy, Bruce Springsteen put a decidedly California spin on his overarching musical message about holding onto hope even in the face of such hard times.

Springsteen invited local political firebrand Tom Morello, of Rage Against the Machine/the Nightwatchman fame, to join him on stage Wednesday at the first of two consecutive nights at the Los Angeles Sports Arena for a savage duet on "The Ghost of Tom Joad," the Boss' 1995 Steinbeck- inspired treatise on those who've been let down or forgotten in the promised land:

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waiting for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass

He and Morello traded impassioned verses, with E Street Band guitarists "Miami" Steve Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren ceding the spotlight to Morello for a rapid-fire solo that screamed outrage. During the encore segment, Morello returned for a choir-like reading of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More."

Springsteen might have stumped for Barack Obama and played at the White House following his election, but he knows that systemic change doesn't happen overnight and that hope remains a fragile thing in troubled times.

Rifling through his ever-expanding songbook, he stitched together a set focused less on promoting his latest album, “Working on a Dream,” than on shoring up hope while acknowledging how much work still needs to be done to fulfill the American dream.

"We're here with a mighty purpose in mind!" the 59-year-old Jerseyite told a sea of cheering onlookers after the first handful of songs. "We're gonna rock the house! But we're not only going to rock the house, we're going to build a house. We're going to take fear and build a house of love; we're going to take sadness and build a house of joy; we're going to take doubt and build a house of faith; we're going to take despair and build a house of hope."

Prior to Tuesday evening, when Tom Morello was last seen on stage in Los Angeles, he was spearheading a benefit for various homeless advocacy groups at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood, performing with the likes of Wayne Krame and Slash. The one-on-one setting Tuesday night at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles was a bit more grown-up than a rock 'n' roll show, but the Rage Against the Machine member stayed on point, and even brought a little unpredictably to the recently opened nonprofit institution.

The Grammy Museum launched with a politics-in-music exhibit titled "Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom," and the discussion, led by the museum's executive director, Robert Santelli, neatly tied in with the theme. With a nod to one of the artist's at the centerpiece of the exhibit, the night closed with Morello, who rose to prominence as one of the alt-rock era's most adventurous guitarists, leading the 200-seat theater through a determined take on Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land." Disregarding the nervous glances from the small security staff, the suburban Illinois-raised artist instructed the audience stand and jump through the final verse.

Before the rousing finale, however, Santelli led an engagingly thoughtful discussion through Morello's career, focusing largely on the influence of politics and activism. Everything from schoolyard racism to the music business to Morello's thoughts on President Obama were touched on. As Morello pointed out, there's more than one similarity between the artist and our nation's 44th president. In addition to ties to the Chicago area, both were born to a Kenyan father and white mother, and each did time at Harvard in the '80s.

The musical reach of Morello, guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave and now fronting a band called Street Sweeper, is matched only by his political activism.

Tom Morello is perhaps best known as the guitarist for rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, but the politically minded L.A. transplant has recorded as the Nightwatchman and has just created another band, Street Sweeper. His West Coast "Justice Tour," which benefits regional nonprofit PATH (People Assisting the Homeless), stops at the Music Box @ the Fonda on Saturday.

You went to Libertyville High School in the northern  Chicago suburbs. How did you like it?

On the one hand, it was a lovely, bucolic suburb with plenty of grassy fields to run around and play football in. On the other hand, one morning there was a noose in my family's garage. A mixed bag.

That leaves an impression.

It certainly does. And you wonder why the music's loud.

'm impressed with your recession-level ticket prices -- $15! -- of your West Coast tour.

We try to keep the tickets for the "Justice Tour" to the people's price. This tour grew out of shows I hosted at the Hotel Café over the last few years. They're shows that are completely outside of the mainstream of how business is usually done in the music industry. I text the artists on my BlackBerry and ask them to play. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to homeless advocacy. The artists not only perform at the shows but are invited to participate at the homeless shelters as well.

-- Read the full story here.

-- Choire Sicha

(Photo: Tom Morello Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Local rock activist Tom Morello has a March 31 date with the Grammy Museum. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist will appear at the institution's 200-seat, second-floor theater for an interview and a brief acoustic performance. Tickets go on sale Monday for members of the downtown Los Angeles museum. Tickets for nonmembers will go on sale Thursday (March 5).

Morello is the latest artist to sign on for the museum's "an evening with" program. The Grammy Museum's executive director, Robert Santelli, will conduct the interview with Morello, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session with fans and a short acoustic performance. Artists who have previously appeared on the Grammy Museum stage include Annie Lennox, Brian Wilson and Charlie Haden.

Morello, who also performs folk rock under the Nightwatchman moniker, ties in nicely with the museum's first major exhibit, the politically focused "Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom." Morello is reported to be working on an album with Boots Riley, leader of Bay Area hip-hop act the Coup. The two performed together in Los Angeles toward the end of 2008.

And for those still in need of Saturday night plans, the Nightwatchman will perform tonight at 514 S. Spring St. in downtown Los Angeles as part of a benefit for International Women's Day. Doors open at 8 p.m., and it's $20.

Tom Morello at the Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Tuesday, March 31, 8 p.m. Tickets are $17.95 for museum members and  $19.95 for the general public; they go on sale for members on Monday. Members can purchase their tickets by calling the museum box office at (213) 765-6803. For more information, call (213) 765-6800 or visit www.grammymuseum.org.

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Sean Ricigliano /Associated Press