Tuesday night. Sydney. Or is it Bangkok when you consider the heat and humidity? And here we are at Sydney Entertainment Centre to witness the headline act from the juggernaut that is Soundwave. This is my first visit to the venue and I’ve heard nasty things about SEC, especially the sound quality. That rumour was blown away by both The Dillinger Escape Plan and System Of A Down. Whoever the sound tech/mixer was from last night it should be noted that this should be the standard expected from here on in.
A man walks on stage. 10,000 alternative rock fans hold their breath. “Tonight’s show is in dedication to our friend Chubs. Why you may ask? He was a great man and he was from Sydney. And tonight we are recording the show live in his honour. You may ask how he died. He was allergic to peanuts. He had picked up a prostitute the other night only to choke on her nuts.” The crowd go ballistic.
American math core band, The Dillinger Escape Plan are the supports tonight and have been around since 1997. They burst onto the stage with a high and inescapable raw energy. As both guitarists and the bass player pound away at their instruments it causes almost a sonic wall to hit us in our seats. The vocalist Greg Puciato has a deafening voice almost matching that of Trent Reznor in parts and the guitarists may have had one too many red bulls – numerous ‘high kicks off speakers’ maneuver – I lost count. With songs like “Room Full Of Eyes” and “43% Burnt”, believe it or not, there’s a harmony buried in there you just have to listen! A very solid opener to start the night off with.
System Of A Down (or S.O.A.D) formed back in 1994 from Southern California and consists of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass, background vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums). They have achieved commercial success globally releasing five studio albums. And just quietly…. have been nominated for four Grammy awards. S.O.A.D took a short 4 year hiatus in 2006, so it’s good to have them back playing their often described alternative metal, progressive rock, hard rock, experimental style with a uniquely Armenian-American twist.
To many people here S.O.A.D are still one of their favourite bands from their youth. On a stripped back stage with only the band name on a banner they ripped into “Prison Song”. We’re only into the first song and the crowd already are losing their sh!t collectively. This would be the beginning of a sprawling 27 song set and brought back many a nostalgic moment the first of which came via “B.Y.O.B.” And not a single person was sitting in their chairs – “Dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine”. Amazing.
Serj Tankian’s vocal range is as incredible as ever and you could say it is right up there with the great man himself, Mike Patton. His last tour to this country came as a solo project which was well received back in 2009 and many fans have been awaiting his return.
The simplicity of the stage set up really emphasised the music performance in itself. This was a band that wasn’t hiding behind a stage show. I was slightly enviable that the crowd, in particular those in the mosh pit, were able to jump around with enthusiasm and energy for the duration of the set – then I had a Big Day Out 2002 flashback and thought, “Maybe not.”
Obviously this intensified during the band’s more popular songs such as “Toxicity” and “Chop Suey! and “Bounce”, the latter prompting the crowd to pogo about as madly as the lyrics implied. Such is the Australian-American love in the room, we’re also treated to a Dire Straits cover – “Sultans of Swing”. And returning to the sound quality, the airing of “Aerials” was clear and crisp and a personal highlight.
Several tracks also featured slower verses where they opted to play the guitar melodies in their trademark “Armenian polka” style which was a welcome bit of improv and raised further shout outs from the crowd. It has to be noted as well that lead guitarist Daron Malakian has an fantastic voice; it blends perfectly with Serj’s.
Tonight System Of A Down put my faith back into grand and epic alternate, hard and progressive rock music and black t-shirts. YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH
– Jefferson Chew
