System of a Down, The Dillinger Escape Plan @ Sydney Ent. Centre (28/02/2012)
Photo by Katie Fairservice
Soundwave has been really good to us this year, enticing a plethora of well known and very talented artists. Promoted by the festival and crammed into a few short days, a multitude of amazing side waves have descended upon us, much to the delight of fans across the nation.
System of a Down have not graced our shores for a very, very long time and I was surprised that their side show wasn’t sold out, however that’s not to say the love wasn’t still there and by the time I got to the Sydney Entertainment Centre the stadium was already half full. Their support act for the night and also part of the festival, The Dillinger Escape Plan, are a five piece hard core metal group from New Jersey, who hold their own and are well respected in their genre. They’ve gained a huge following, which is even more apparent when the mosh pit surges toward the stage in anticipation of their set.
The crowd’s excitement goes up a notch when it’s announced that this is a very special show because the band are recording this set as a live album. I must admit I was not prepared for the band’s full on auditory assault as they launch into ‘Farewell, Mona Lisa’, which starts off innocently enough with heavy rumbling drums and bass and then breaks into guttural screaming, distortion and frantic beats. Some artful old school guitar picking comes into play on ‘Milk Lizard’ and by the time the band are ripping into ‘Panasonic Youth’ guitarist Ben Weinman is on one knee, swinging his guitar around one shoulder and writhing on the floor while he plays.
Some of the other set highlights were ‘Gold Teeth on a Bum’ and ‘Good Neighbour’, which for me showcased the fact that not only can Greg Puciato belt it, but he also has a brilliant singing voice, especially in the higher ranges. The band radiated energy leaping off anything they could find. Greg dragged around a trunk that he used to stand on and ended up taking his mike stand to the top of the speakers, then stole drummer Billy Rymer’s high hat and walking off with it casually slung over one shoulder. I found the band entertaining, but the mathcore element to their music left me a bit dazed. I’m not sure what the protocol is for this genre, but it looked like the crowd were finding it difficult to move with the music and ended up just standing around nodding appreciatively.
There is a break as the tech team set up for System of a Down, white cloth is draped around to hide the stage from view and the band’s name is projected onto the front side. Of course if you put a projector in front of bored waiting crowd, they’re going to have some fun with it and I’m sure everyone got a laugh out of the shadow puppets created by the people in the front row. Finally the lights go down and we are greeted with the illuminated outlines of the band playing an on off rock intro that riles the crowd up. The curtains finally drop to great effect and the band launch into ‘Prison Song’. The whole room is instantly switched on as the crazed sing along begins and proves not to end until the last note of the last song.
Serj Tankian seems quite relaxed as the band move seamlessly into part of ‘Soldier Side’ and then into ‘B.Y.O.B’. Everyone is chanting along and pumping their fists ecstatically, Serj has an excellent set of lungs and hearing his vocals live is a thing to behold. I am completely blown away by the power and grace at which he delivers each song and the ease at which he switches between jagged screams, strong bold melodies and very high pitched notes. ‘Needles’ starts off with Serj imploring the crowd to ‘pull the tapeworm out of their ass’ and ends with an outburst ‘mother fucker!’ to which the crowd responds with cheers and whistles.
Daron Malakian was undeniably impressive, showing off his skill not only as a guitarist but as a flawless vocalist too. During ‘Deer Dance’ he decides to plunge into the moshpit, still playing enthusiastically, as three security guards try to prevent him from being swallowed whole. ‘Radio/Video’ injects some electricity back into the atmosphere before the lighting shifts into epileptic mode for ‘Question!’ with extremely bright shades of red and yellow for ‘Suggestions’ and ‘Psycho’. ‘Chop Suey!’ was another raucous favourite along with ‘Lonely Day’ and ‘Bounce’.
We are treated with a special performance when Daron breaks out into a cover of ‘Sultans of Swing’ by Dire Straits, his voice sounding so eerily close to Mark Knopfler’s. He receives extra encouragement for his efforts by replacing the lead lyric with ‘we are the System of a Down’. For ‘Aerials’ Ben Weinman is re introduced as an extra guitarist and it’s entertaining to watch the way he interacts with the band, especially bassist Shavo Odadjian. There’s a break as Daron mentiones that they’re looking for someone named Joey and drummer John Dolmayan gets caught out on his mobile when Daron and Serj start playing again. There is a mad scramble for the drum kit and some fleeting remarks on professionalism before the song is restarted.
‘Toxicity’ and ‘Sugar’ round off a solid hour and a half set and I believe this is why there wasn’t an encore, much to the disappointment of some of the fans. At the end, the band members came forward and were met with a standing ovation. Shavo came out later with at least 6 pairs of drumsticks and drumheads that he threw pretty damn far, to each corner of the room, which showed some real generosity and was met with a lot of gratitude. All in all the show was unforgettable, whether you were a devoted fan or not and you could see it in the exhilaration on people’s faces. Judging by the excited chatter of the crowd as they left the venue, it was evident that System of a Down had been well worth the wait.
Nazia Hafiz
System of a Down have not graced our shores for a very, very long time and I was surprised that their side show wasn’t sold out, however that’s not to say the love wasn’t still there and by the time I got to the Sydney Entertainment Centre the stadium was already half full. Their support act for the night and also part of the festival, The Dillinger Escape Plan, are a five piece hard core metal group from New Jersey, who hold their own and are well respected in their genre. They’ve gained a huge following, which is even more apparent when the mosh pit surges toward the stage in anticipation of their set.
The crowd’s excitement goes up a notch when it’s announced that this is a very special show because the band are recording this set as a live album. I must admit I was not prepared for the band’s full on auditory assault as they launch into ‘Farewell, Mona Lisa’, which starts off innocently enough with heavy rumbling drums and bass and then breaks into guttural screaming, distortion and frantic beats. Some artful old school guitar picking comes into play on ‘Milk Lizard’ and by the time the band are ripping into ‘Panasonic Youth’ guitarist Ben Weinman is on one knee, swinging his guitar around one shoulder and writhing on the floor while he plays.
Some of the other set highlights were ‘Gold Teeth on a Bum’ and ‘Good Neighbour’, which for me showcased the fact that not only can Greg Puciato belt it, but he also has a brilliant singing voice, especially in the higher ranges. The band radiated energy leaping off anything they could find. Greg dragged around a trunk that he used to stand on and ended up taking his mike stand to the top of the speakers, then stole drummer Billy Rymer’s high hat and walking off with it casually slung over one shoulder. I found the band entertaining, but the mathcore element to their music left me a bit dazed. I’m not sure what the protocol is for this genre, but it looked like the crowd were finding it difficult to move with the music and ended up just standing around nodding appreciatively.
There is a break as the tech team set up for System of a Down, white cloth is draped around to hide the stage from view and the band’s name is projected onto the front side. Of course if you put a projector in front of bored waiting crowd, they’re going to have some fun with it and I’m sure everyone got a laugh out of the shadow puppets created by the people in the front row. Finally the lights go down and we are greeted with the illuminated outlines of the band playing an on off rock intro that riles the crowd up. The curtains finally drop to great effect and the band launch into ‘Prison Song’. The whole room is instantly switched on as the crazed sing along begins and proves not to end until the last note of the last song.
Serj Tankian seems quite relaxed as the band move seamlessly into part of ‘Soldier Side’ and then into ‘B.Y.O.B’. Everyone is chanting along and pumping their fists ecstatically, Serj has an excellent set of lungs and hearing his vocals live is a thing to behold. I am completely blown away by the power and grace at which he delivers each song and the ease at which he switches between jagged screams, strong bold melodies and very high pitched notes. ‘Needles’ starts off with Serj imploring the crowd to ‘pull the tapeworm out of their ass’ and ends with an outburst ‘mother fucker!’ to which the crowd responds with cheers and whistles.
Daron Malakian was undeniably impressive, showing off his skill not only as a guitarist but as a flawless vocalist too. During ‘Deer Dance’ he decides to plunge into the moshpit, still playing enthusiastically, as three security guards try to prevent him from being swallowed whole. ‘Radio/Video’ injects some electricity back into the atmosphere before the lighting shifts into epileptic mode for ‘Question!’ with extremely bright shades of red and yellow for ‘Suggestions’ and ‘Psycho’. ‘Chop Suey!’ was another raucous favourite along with ‘Lonely Day’ and ‘Bounce’.
We are treated with a special performance when Daron breaks out into a cover of ‘Sultans of Swing’ by Dire Straits, his voice sounding so eerily close to Mark Knopfler’s. He receives extra encouragement for his efforts by replacing the lead lyric with ‘we are the System of a Down’. For ‘Aerials’ Ben Weinman is re introduced as an extra guitarist and it’s entertaining to watch the way he interacts with the band, especially bassist Shavo Odadjian. There’s a break as Daron mentiones that they’re looking for someone named Joey and drummer John Dolmayan gets caught out on his mobile when Daron and Serj start playing again. There is a mad scramble for the drum kit and some fleeting remarks on professionalism before the song is restarted.
‘Toxicity’ and ‘Sugar’ round off a solid hour and a half set and I believe this is why there wasn’t an encore, much to the disappointment of some of the fans. At the end, the band members came forward and were met with a standing ovation. Shavo came out later with at least 6 pairs of drumsticks and drumheads that he threw pretty damn far, to each corner of the room, which showed some real generosity and was met with a lot of gratitude. All in all the show was unforgettable, whether you were a devoted fan or not and you could see it in the exhilaration on people’s faces. Judging by the excited chatter of the crowd as they left the venue, it was evident that System of a Down had been well worth the wait.
Nazia Hafiz