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System of a Down presents fans with action-packed, enjoyable show
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by Alec Luhn
Monday, October 3, 2005
Most people go their entire lives without hearing an entire stadium of fans singing along to the lyrics "My sh-t stinks much better than yours." Anyone who attended Friday's System of a Down-headlined show in Rosemont, Ill., will tell you differently.
Even after four albums, System of a Down has remained completely unpredictable, and Friday's show was no exception. The band covered Neil Young and Dire Straits, played slowed-down versions of their own songs and changed lyrics to keep the audience rocking through their nearly two and a half hour set.
With two opening bands, System didn't even hit the stage until almost two hours after the concert started. Sacramento-based noise-rockers Hella started off the night. While awesomely talented drummer Zach Hill dropped jaws, it was hard to get into the music. The chaotic noise covered up any instrumental flourishes, offending the eardrums without provoking an emotional connection.
By the time Hella got off the stage, the audience was more than ready for avant-garde rockers The Mars Volta, who incited a respectable level of crowd roar.
The Volta looked every inch like rock stars, strutting satanically through their hour-long set. The band's afro'd co-founders, front man Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, stomped around the stage in tight bellbottoms like the '70s never left. Drummer Jon Theodore soon had his shirt off, pounding the skins demonically as bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña grooved in the shadows next to him.
But while they may look like '70s rockers, the Mars Volta's sound is completely new. During their hour-long set Friday, they jammed on three songs off of their March release Frances the Mute and one song from their 2003 album De-Loused in the Comatorium, each an amazing album in its own right.
Unfortunately, their ambient Latin prog-rock didn't translate well into the stadium setting. Of course, sound quality is always lost at a venue like the Allstate Arena, which normally functions as a hockey rink. But The Mars Volta's spacier, jam-based style suffered more than System of a Down's tightly packed, concise approach.
The bass barely cut through the torrents of guitar distortion and synthesizer effects, leaving the songs feeling disjointed and random. Since the bass playing oftentimes carries the melody, new listeners would have been confused.
The set had definite high points, like the sizzling slow bossa nova section of "L'Via L'Viaquez." As the band grooved Buena Vista Social Club-style, Adrian Terrazas ripped off a flute solo that managed to be the essence of cool. Overall, though, the music was too awash in overpowering guitar and effects to make much of an impact.
System of a Down's set began with a single spotlight illuminating the shadow of guitarist Daron Malakian behind a screen. As Malakian sang and played the unaccompanied intro song "Soldier Side," thousands of fans gently lifted their voices to sing along. Then the screen fell and all hell broke loose.
System launched into the first single off their new album, "B.Y.O.B." with a ferocity that it maintained for the entire set. Over the next two hours, they played every song on the short but inspired Mesmerize, except "Old School Hollywood."
The band also performed several songs off of their self-titled debut and its follow-up, Toxicity, as well as an inspired version of "Mr. Jack," off of their 2002 collection of outtakes, Steal This Album.
Many of the songs from Toxicity and Mesmerize weren't as majestic without the studio gloss effects, but System made up for it with their balls-out approach. They didn't improvise extensively, but their great sense of showmanship proved they can be exciting live.
System's material has always been tinged with a strange and twisted sense of humor, and Friday's show playfully exaggerated this aspect of the music. Malakian began "Cigaro" by singing the song's first line at a comically languid pace before the rest of the band kicked in and rocked out the up-tempo song. Later, the band briefly covered Dire Straits, changing the lyrics from "We are the sultans of swing" to "We are the System of a Down."
Tankian looked a lot goofier than his commanding voice suggests, clod-hopping around the stage in a gigantic pair of boots. But the man has a voice that demands the odd kind of respect you give to someone in a straightjacket.
Tankian truly is the focal point of System's unique brand of musical insanity, but unlike your average front man, he doesn't always lead the charge. On several of the new songs, he played synthesizers, keyboards and backup guitar while sharing vocal duties with Malakian.
These extra parts were, for the most part, lost in the mix, but Tankian's acoustic strumming on "Question!" was a welcome change of pace.
Bassist Shavo Odadjian has apparently taken it upon himself to make up for Tankian's low-key stage presence. Throughout the show, Odadjian was constantly running around the stage, climbing atop speakers, swinging his braided goatee and even using his bass to reflect a spotlight onto the audience.
The crowd loved every second of it. "Forest" turned into a giant sing-along, with Tankian letting the audience carry the chorus "Why can't you see that you are my child … " Later, the giant screen behind the band started the audience chanting "f-ck you pig" on "Mr. Jack."
More than one audience member left with a hoarse voice. Most of the crowd sang along with every song except a few new tunes off of the yet-to-be-released Hypnotize.
There was no need for an encore after the final song, Toxicity's "Sugar." Fans wandered out into the night, completely wrung dry and ready to head home.
