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Fans
rock out to System of a Down at Long
Beach Arena
Concert
review
By
Jon Matsumoto
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
From Disturbed to Avenged Sevenfold, there are plenty of bands churning out
generic heavy metal these days.
Thankfully, the so-called “new” metal scene still has System of
a Down to lean on when it requires a shot of instant credibility. The Los Angeles-based
band infuses its hard rock with challenging song arrangements and exotic instrumental
textures as well as alternately thoughtful and playful lyrics.
All of these qualities were on full display last Thursday night at System’s
show at the cavernous Long Beach Arena, which has a near 40-year history of
hosting thunderous rock acts from Led Zeppelin to Slayer.
Even though it was the first show of their two and a half month North American
tour, the quartet appeared to be in fine form. The Armenian-American outfit
rifled out 25 songs during its 90-plus minute set, including a healthy dose
of new ditties from its most recent album, “Mesmerize.” In fact,
its first three songs of the evening were all from the new CD, including the
hooky “B.Y.O.B.”
“B.Y.O.B.” is a rousing example of the band’s ability to successfully
merge various styles and lyrical sensibilities. The song cleverly pairs the rousing
chorus “Everybody’s going to the party/have a real good time” with
the sobering lines “Why don’t presidents fight the war?/Why do they
always send the poor?”
In the rabblerousing tradition of the Clash and Rage Against the Machine, System
of a Down isn’t afraid to lace its songs with politically-charged lyrics.
Yet in concert, the band is content to let its songs do the educating. During
the show, vocalist and social activist Serj Tankian barely addressed the audience,
much less made any attempts at proselytizing. (Tankian and Audioslave’s
Tom Morello are the co-founders of a grassroots social advocacy organization
called Axis of Justice.)
The real visual centerpiece of the group proved to be guitarist-vocalist Darron
Malakian. The animated Malakian, who is also the band’s chief musical
architect, flashed an array of mischievous stage moves including a dizzying
series of 360-degree spins. He also bugged his eyes out at the audience, pantomimed
and served as the evening’s indefatigable MC and party host.
At times, no less than five sizable mosh pits swirled on the floor of the Long
Beach Arena. It was an impressive sight given the fact that System’s
music isn’t always ideal for slamming because its songs can abruptly
shift in mood and texture. For example, Malakian’s power guitar riffing
is occasionally balanced out by some of his traditional Armenian/Middle Eastern
instrumental flourishes.
The evening’s highlight was clearly the double shot delivery of the songs “Aerials” and “Toxicity,” arguably
the two best songs in the band’s arsenal.
The Mars Volta preceded System of a Down with a somewhat indulgent, but generally
fetching half hour of trippy, free-form music. The multi-ethnic nine-piece
band came across as a modern day Santana as it jammed within a musical framework
that embraced rock, soul, jazz and Latin flavors. |
