So I got free tickets to our company suite at the local arena to see System of a Down last night. I'm not a huge fan, but my husband likes 'em, so I figured what the hell... free is free, right? Here are a few of the highlights:
- thankfully we missed the first band Hella. Heard they were awful by other suite-mates in attendance.
- we came in mid-set for the Mars Volta. Now, I've tried to give these guys a fair shake, and maybe it was the venue, but they sucked giant donkey dick. My husband described them as "self-indulgent" and I described the music as "never-ending wankery." Even some kids seated in front of our suite stood up, turned around to us and said, "These guys SUCK!" I couldn't tell if the crowd was screaming for them to get off the stage, or if they were screaming in support, but at the end of the set, frizzy-haired lead singer throws his mike down on the floor all crazy-like and lopes offstage. Good riddance. Thank GOD I didn't pay for this.
- we watched some kids on the floor playing hackey sack... apparently two people was the max they could pass it to because the third dork always missed it. Everytime the music segued between songs, the kids up front would go nuts, like the band was going to come out with the house lights up. Calm down, junior.
- So the band comes out, and were surprisingly good, at least musically. The lead singer was either on valium or has a slipped disc which disabled him from showing hardly ANY movement on stage. If it wasn't for the guitarist and the bassist, it would have been like watching a sub-par folk band on stage for the first time.
- Granted the band had smoke machines on, but I watched the "smoke machines" come on throughout the arena, and felt peaceful by their orange-red glow.
I told my husband to breathe in deep because we might not get this chance again anytime soon. Whenever the band brought out the bright lights to shine on the audience, we had to squint through the haze to actually see them.
- During the show, the guitarist starts playing "My My, Hey Hey" except he changes the lyric to "Rock and roll is turning gay." Hilarity and high-fives ensue. He also played the "Sultans of Swing" and changed the lyric to "We are the System of a Down." All the kids went nuts, while my husband and I wondered if the kids even knew it was an old song. Crowd surfing... shoes flying.... morbidly obese children jumping up and down in unison.... lighters coming on for no apparent reason (have the rules changed on "lighter" songs? I thought you pulled out the lighter and held it high during romantic or emotional slow songs, but SOAD doesn't have too many of those).
- coming out of the arena, I notice some balding men with their pre-teen sons and daughters. It made me feel younger and cooler.
- waiting at the Max station for the next train to my car, I get asked by a 16 year old boy if I want one of his System of a Down stickers. I politely decline, despite his earnest look.
Overall, an intriguing evening, music was ok, watching the kids was fun. It reminded me of how I used to feel going to concerts back in highschool, where it was an event, a scene, a place to be noticed.
