I’ve seen rock concerts from Aerosmith to ZZ Top. I have seen a lot of good shows a few bad ones and as of last night, three that were “just right”.
Yesterday, System of a Down, played the Key Arena in Seattle. I chauffeured The Boy and a couple of his friends. The evening was gorgeous so we drove the half hour south with the top down. After parking, getting drinks and a nice Gogol Bordello set, a sheer white curtain surrounded the stage with a simple ‘System of a Down’ projected against it. At about 9:30 the lights went down and Prison Song smacked you in the face.
Over the course of the next 90 minutes, they kicked out a nice mix of old and new and made sure they hit the mainstream radio favorites. You felt like the band was devoted to each tune and it was invigorating. Serj Tankian, warmly addressed the Seattle fans. Daron Malakian, was deliriously playful. Shavo Odadjian, is making some chiropractor a hell of a lot of money and John Dolmayan has legs where his arms should be.
Now, my favorite show was Page/Plant 15 years ago at the Gorge Amphitheatre (One of the greatest places to see a show *Pic*) but I’m biased to Led Zeppelin. Still, I wouldn’t call that show “just right”. It’s not like they missed notes or forgot lyrics. It’s not even like there were noticeable technical difficulties. I would just say, it wasn’t quite “right”.
I liken it to coming into a room you’ve known all your life and something small has been replaced. You know something’s different but you would need to really analyze it to figure it out. The point being, if that change hadn’t been made, the room would feel “just right” to you.
After Sugar, the 29th song, the band thanked the audience and walked off the stage. No phony encore, gimmicks or ego stroking.
It was “just right”.
