Semi-OT: System of a Down Chicago review

[Dirk]

Shawn asked me to give a review of the concert, and so I shall. I know for a lot of the crowd around here this might be a heavier music than is preferred, but there are an increasing number of young-uns, too. :-)

The concert was The Mars Volta & System of a Down at the Alliant Energy Center just outside of O'Hare (at the end of a runway, actually, which gave us some "Wayne's World-esque" entertainment as we waited in line). There was also some local band called "Hella" which was a half-hour long drum solo with guitar & synth noise on top of it. I'll speak no more of *them*.

First off, we were lucky enough (whether good or bad) to get general admission floor access. This was bane & boon. We were VERY close to the stage (about 3 layers worth of people from the security guards). This made the Mars Volta, well, amazing to see in action. For those of you unaware of them, I'd best say they're a latin-jazz-fusion-prog-rock kind of mix with loads of musicianship. Most excellent to see live. Their vocalist has a lot of Robert Plant qualities to him, not the least of which is his dynamic vocal range. Instead of a rasp, though, his voice is a clear tenor extending into an astounding falsetto. Anyway, they were "on" last night. Everything was in sync. The solos were unique (not note-for-note from the album) and you got the sense that these guys just worked well together. The crowd was into what they were doing, but there was little to no crowd interaction. Until just now, I hadn't realized that, so I guess it shows how much I was enjoying their set. Sound quality was top notch, probably because we were underneath the barrage of the massive PA arrays. More on that later.

So then comes System of a Down.

I'll stop right there and state that I went to the show with a good friend of mine. He's 6'5" and about 220lbs. Goes to the Y regularly, and is in good physical shape. I'm 5'10" about 175lb, and given my own regimen and genetic stock, I'm even more muscular then he. On with the story...

My buddy Nate and I had decided that we'd stay up front for the first song, and then head towards the back. He's tall enough to see the show no matter WHERE he stands, but I wasn't looking forward to being in the thrashing masses. We were so close that, when the curtain went up and the frenzy started, we were IN FRONT of the mosh pit. We were in the crush. We stayed for the first couple of stanzas and I tapped him on the shoulder to note that I was getting the hell out. The only way to get away was to head in the opposite direction from the stage, and the only way to accomplish THIS was to start pushing on the people in front of me, making a small gap and then taking one of my fellow concert goers and wedging them in place like a shim. I did this all the way back, slugged it out through the mosh pit, and finally back to the more sedate areas where the smell of weed was as prevalent as the smell of cigarette smoke. Never met an agressive pot head, so I figured it would be a safe place to finish out the concert.

Yow. Never. Again. I don't think it's that I'm getting old or anything (geeze, I just turned 27 on Tuesday), but how do you enjoy a concert like that? If I wanted to fight to music, I'd knock over a few motorcycles outside of a bar and then head in to pee on someone's leather jacket. There was a cute girl standing next to me during Mars Volta wearing a pink shirt that said "Jesus did it for the chicks". She couldn't have been more than 5'1" and maybe a buck ten. I wonder if she got out all right. But I digress....

System was impressive, but the PA system was something else. Last year I saw Chevelle in a smallish local bar in an indoor vollyball court. Whether it was the sand floor or the thin sheetmetal walls or just the PA gear, they sounded JUST as good as their album work. Ever since, they have become my gold standard for live performances. Last night, though, the bass drum was so clipped and distorted that you couldn't hear the guitars, much less the vocals. I had to ease my earplugs halfway out to pick up enough treble to understand what was going on on stage.

But when I did, it was worth the 4 hours in the car. From my new vantage, the crowd was picking up the onstage energy and directing it back at the stage, as opposed up front where it all went to their fellow concertgoers. There was the requisite bouncing and singing along. System of a Down fans have a certain kind of dedication that lends themselves to knowing every song off an album, which isn't all that common. System played for dang near two hours straight, with almost no pause between songs. The only thing I didn't like about their performance was that they played all of their songs at least a full step and a half higher than anything they recorded, which (for me), made it harder to sing along. Who knows, maybe Serj had a cold or something.

But Darren hammered his guitar like a machine and Serj worked the lyrics. Shavo really interacted with the crowd, at one point standing on a rack of speakers and intentionally directing the spotlight off his bass back at into the crowd. You can see he thought it novel and was having fun with it.

So were it not for the nasty PA system and almost being crushed to death, the evening would have been a complete success. ;-)

[shawn_a]

Yeah I had a feeling that show would be a real slug-fest down in the pit. At 34 I'm at the age where I'm just tired of all the years I spent down at Bogart's on short Vine in Cincy. Basically "taking care of business" when the security guys weren't watching. Hell, even when they were watching! Hopefully whenever I get a chance to check them out live and in action, the sound guy will have been replaced or whatever else needs to be taken care of. Still, I do love a good loud and crunchy show from time to time. Thanks for the report.

shawn

[Wolf]

> So then comes System of a Down.

> My buddy Nate and I had decided that we'd
> stay up front for the first song, and then
> head towards the back. He's tall enough to
> see the show no matter WHERE he stands, but
> I wasn't looking forward to being in the
> thrashing masses. We were so close that,
> when the curtain went up and the frenzy
> started, we were IN FRONT of the mosh pit.

Been there, man! Front and center for Extol's "Undeceived" tour, and Klank's "Numb" tour. I was pushed on, but that was it. I'm 27, about 6-0 and 185lbs now, about 10 shy back then.
> Yow. Never. Again. I don't think it's that
> I'm getting old or anything (geeze, I just
> turned 27 on Tuesday), but how do you enjoy
> a concert like that?

Stay out of the pit, and wear yer plugs.

> System was impressive, but the PA system was
> something else. Last year I saw Chevelle in
> a smallish local bar in an indoor vollyball
> court. Whether it was the sand floor or the
> thin sheetmetal walls or just the PA gear,
> they sounded JUST as good as their album
> work. Ever since, they have become my gold
> standard for live performances. Last night,
> though, the bass drum was so clipped and
> distorted that you couldn't hear the
> guitars, much less the vocals. I had to ease
> my earplugs halfway out to pick up enough
> treble to understand what was going on on
> stage.

Understand that! Cuts the highs WAAAAY off. I did same for Petra. I was plugged in front of the dual 18" scoop for one of Zao's/Living Sacrifice's live shows, and all I get was thwack. It was AWESOME! I love that feeling. I thought the rest sounded ok. I do think they were over driving them.

> So were it not for the nasty PA system and
> almost being crushed to death, the evening
> would have been a complete success. ;-)

Glad you had fun! What's your main audio poison? Mine's in the industrial/metal vein. I'm a rivoted metal head, and enjoy it fully. Some reason I can't stand SoaD. Who knows why,
Wolf

[Dirk]

> Glad you had fun! What's your main audio
> poison? Mine's in the industrial/metal vein.
> I'm a rivoted metal head, and enjoy it
> fully. Some reason I can't stand SoaD. Who
> knows why,
> Wolf

I'm all over the place, musically. I don't think I could pin down my exact taste. I spend as much time listening to indie and (decent) pop as I do listening to techno/electronica or metal. It's really all just a matter of my tastes from day to day.

[concreteman]

> Been there, man! Front and center for
> Extol's "Undeceived" tour, and
> Klank's "Numb" tour. I was pushed
> on, but that was it. I'm 27, about 6-0 and
> 185lbs now, about 10 shy back then.

> Stay out of the pit, and wear yer plugs.

> Understand that! Cuts the highs WAAAAY off.
> I did same for Petra. I was plugged in front
> of the dual 18" scoop for one of
> Zao's/Living Sacrifice's live shows, and all
> I get was thwack. It was AWESOME! I love
> that feeling. I thought the rest sounded ok.
> I do think they were over driving them.

> Glad you had fun! What's your main audio
> poison? Mine's in the industrial/metal vein.
> I'm a rivoted metal head, and enjoy it
> fully. Some reason I can't stand SoaD. Who
> knows why,
> Wolf
I have tickets to NIN here in St. Louis on oct. 14, 10th row center . I hope I do not have to deal with a moss pit. I am 36 years old and have not been to a concert in about 12 years. Has anyone seen Trent and have any comments.
Thanks, Waggs

[shawn_a]

> I have tickets to NIN here in St. Louis on
> oct. 14, 10th row center . I hope I do not
> have to deal with a moss pit. I am 36 years
> old and have not been to a concert in about
> 12 years. Has anyone seen Trent and have any
> comments.
> Thanks, Waggs

Yeah just stay away from the stage. The pit is vicious at a NIN show. Overall I thought the show was very powerful and plenty loud. Very heavy on the bass to be sure. Of course this was a few years back so I would be interested in how they will fare now. Enjoy.

shawn

[concreteman]

> Yeah just stay away from the stage. The pit
> is vicious at a NIN show. Overall I thought
> the show was very powerful and plenty loud.
> Very heavy on the bass to be sure. Of course
> this was a few years back so I would be
> interested in how they will fare now. Enjoy.

> shawn
Thanks for the info. I like alot of bass, hopefully I am back away from any moosing going on. I am going for enjoyment of a show , Not to fight.
Will post show results, Clyde

[dougg]

Very cool. System of a down, are nuts! I just had BYOB cranked while testing some speakers. System is very hard on speakers, I somehow can’t play their music at volume low..

I have not been to a show in a long time. Woodstock II in fact. I was right in front of the stange or in the pit for about 3 days! I used to have *way* too much fun in the pits. But now I am 35 and much less angry. No need to beat the hell out of people anymore. ;-)

Doug

> Shawn asked me to give a review of the
> concert, and so I shall. I know for a lot of
> the crowd around here this might be a
> heavier music than is preferred, but there
> are an increasing number of young-uns, too.
> :-)

> The concert was The Mars Volta & System
> of a Down at the Alliant Energy Center just
> outside of O'Hare (at the end of a runway,
> actually, which gave us some "Wayne's
> World-esque" entertainment as we waited
> in line). There was also some local band
> called "Hella" which was a
> half-hour long drum solo with guitar &
> synth noise on top of it. I'll speak no more
> of *them*.

> First off, we were lucky enough (whether
> good or bad) to get general admission floor
> access. This was bane & boon. We were
> VERY close to the stage (about 3 layers
> worth of people from the security guards).
> This made the Mars Volta, well, amazing to
> see in action. For those of you unaware of
> them, I'd best say they're a
> latin-jazz-fusion-prog-rock kind of mix with
> loads of musicianship. Most excellent to see
> live. Their vocalist has a lot of Robert
> Plant qualities to him, not the least of
> which is his dynamic vocal range. Instead of
> a rasp, though, his voice is a clear tenor
> extending into an astounding falsetto.
> Anyway, they were "on" last night.
> Everything was in sync. The solos were
> unique (not note-for-note from the album)
> and you got the sense that these guys just
> worked well together. The crowd was into
> what they were doing, but there was little
> to no crowd interaction. Until just now, I
> hadn't realized that, so I guess it shows
> how much I was enjoying their set. Sound
> quality was top notch, probably because we
> were underneath the barrage of the massive
> PA arrays. More on that later.

> So then comes System of a Down.

> I'll stop right there and state that I went
> to the show with a good friend of mine. He's
> 6'5" and about 220lbs. Goes to the Y
> regularly, and is in good physical shape.
> I'm 5'10" about 175lb, and given my own
> regimen and genetic stock, I'm even more
> muscular then he. On with the story...

> My buddy Nate and I had decided that we'd
> stay up front for the first song, and then
> head towards the back. He's tall enough to
> see the show no matter WHERE he stands, but
> I wasn't looking forward to being in the
> thrashing masses. We were so close that,
> when the curtain went up and the frenzy
> started, we were IN FRONT of the mosh pit.
> We were in the crush. We stayed for the
> first couple of stanzas and I tapped him on
> the shoulder to note that I was getting the
> hell out. The only way to get away was to
> head in the opposite direction from the
> stage, and the only way to accomplish THIS
> was to start pushing on the people in front
> of me, making a small gap and then taking
> one of my fellow concert goers and wedging
> them in place like a shim. I did this all
> the way back, slugged it out through the
> mosh pit, and finally back to the more
> sedate areas where the smell of weed was as
> prevalent as the smell of cigarette smoke.
> Never met an agressive pot head, so I
> figured it would be a safe place to finish
> out the concert.

> Yow. Never. Again. I don't think it's that
> I'm getting old or anything (geeze, I just
> turned 27 on Tuesday), but how do you enjoy
> a concert like that? If I wanted to fight to
> music, I'd knock over a few motorcycles
> outside of a bar and then head in to pee on
> someone's leather jacket. There was a cute
> girl standing next to me during Mars Volta
> wearing a pink shirt that said "Jesus
> did it for the chicks". She couldn't
> have been more than 5'1" and maybe a
> buck ten. I wonder if she got out all right.
> But I digress....

> System was impressive, but the PA system was
> something else. Last year I saw Chevelle in
> a smallish local bar in an indoor vollyball
> court. Whether it was the sand floor or the
> thin sheetmetal walls or just the PA gear,
> they sounded JUST as good as their album
> work. Ever since, they have become my gold
> standard for live performances. Last night,
> though, the bass drum was so clipped and
> distorted that you couldn't hear the
> guitars, much less the vocals. I had to ease
> my earplugs halfway out to pick up enough
> treble to understand what was going on on
> stage.

> But when I did, it was worth the 4 hours in
> the car. From my new vantage, the crowd was
> picking up the onstage energy and directing
> it back at the stage, as opposed up front
> where it all went to their fellow
> concertgoers. There was the requisite
> bouncing and singing along. System of a Down
> fans have a certain kind of dedication that
> lends themselves to knowing every song off
> an album, which isn't all that common.
> System played for dang near two hours
> straight, with almost no pause between
> songs. The only thing I didn't like about
> their performance was that they played all
> of their songs at least a full step and a
> half higher than anything they recorded,
> which (for me), made it harder to sing
> along. Who knows, maybe Serj had a cold or
> something.

> But Darren hammered his guitar like a
> machine and Serj worked the lyrics. Shavo
> really interacted with the crowd, at one
> point standing on a rack of speakers and
> intentionally directing the spotlight off
> his bass back at into the crowd. You can see
> he thought it novel and was having fun with
> it.

> So were it not for the nasty PA system and
> almost being crushed to death, the evening
> would have been a complete success. ;-)

[severius]

The sound wasn't loud enough.

MORE LOUDNESS. Man.

Seriously, I'm glad to hear that you had the sense to wear ear plugs. Guys who attend rock events - and driver loud motorcycles - have hearing loss, and anything the say about sound quality is null & void.

[severius]

> What's your main audio
> poison? Mine's in the industrial/metal vein.
> I'm a rivoted metal head, and enjoy it
> fully. Some reason I can't stand SoaD. Who
> knows why,
> Wolf

I hate metal. Or rock. To complex. They use up to 3 chords!

That's why I love noise. I mean real noise. Lawn mower. No chords.

[Dirk]

[shawn_a]

[Wolf]

Anaphlaxis
Graphic Verses
Blackhouse
Mogo
Joshua Bourke
Etc....

I saw Anaphylaxis live, and it was incredible how much intensity they had. Noise can build too, into catastrophic peaks of chaos. It's pretty cool really. Ambient/trance music is another borderline on the area, where music isn't really music. Industrial is still music IMO, as real instruments are sometimes used. Even though this is then not *true* industrial music. *true* industrial would be from groups like Skinny Puppy, Mental Destruction, Sanctum, etc.
Split hare and you get Beebees,
Wolf

[shawn_a]

One of the true classic acts of industrial, Einstürzende Neubaten. Now if blowing up houses and such isn't industrial noise, I don't know what is. LOL. I have a couple of Skinny Puppy discs floating around the house and they get played every once in a while just to clear out the cobwebs. For the lighter side (ha) I will jam out some Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb (not true industrial I know, but I like 'em) to really get the subs moving and to let me know that my tweeters can still take some abuse.

shawn

[severius]

"Industrial can be....".

That's such a wimpy statement right there.

I blow my nose on your wimp attempts at macho brain damage, negative-IQ noise.

Here's MY idea of noise.

I have two dozen chain saws set up in circle, going all at once, with a concrete cutting circular sax cutting 6" steel stock, and a 1/2 ton punch press pounding the metal rivets that I'll be placing in my death-metal head.

I do all of this in my 10' x 10' bedroom soundroom.

Now THAT'S noise.

[shawn_a]

That your comments are tongue-in-cheek.

shawn