The Mars Volta

This was my first time to the iconic San Diego Sports Arena and I had not seen System of a Down for almost three years. They were touring for their new album Mezmerize that had come out in May, the first of what could have been a double album with Hypnotize but the band decided to release the two albums separately and six months apart to give fans time to digest the first before releasing the next. Lucinda and I were talking again so just her and I went. I remember it was HOT AS HELL inside and the Mars Volta opened up. I want to say the stage was in the middle of the arena as opposed to being at one end.

System of a Down came out behind a semi-opaque curtain hanging from the ceiling so we could only see their silhouettes. Just like the album they opened with “Soldier Side – Intro” and right as they went into “B.Y.O.B.” the curtain dropped. We were right in front of the stage on the floor and everyone lost their fucking mind. After that I remember the band continued with the new album in sequence with “Revenga.” Other than that I remember Daron Malakian talking a little about Charles Manson before they played “ATWA” and I remember “Lost in Hollywood” seeming so much heavier live than on the album. This is one of the few bands I have ever seen that plays the songs better live than on the album. They definitely gave us our money’s worth on this night.

SETLIST: Soldier Side – Intro, B.Y.O.B., Revenga, Know, Needles, Deer Dance, Suggestions, Psycho, Chop Suey!, Kill Rock ‘n Roll, My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)
(Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover), Sad Statue, Violent Pornography, Mr. Jack, Cigaro, This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m on This Song, Bounce, ATWA, Forest, Lost in Hollywood, Question!, War?, Prison Song, Roulette, Aerials, Toxicity, Science, Suite-Pee, Sugar

This show happened five days before I packed up everything I owned and moved down to San Diego with Lucinda and Marvin. Los Angeles was always the plan but Marvin called me up one day and said something along the lines of “I know you want to move to L.A. but I’m going to San Diego and my parents are paying for the U-Haul. Why don’t you come with me, sign a six month lease and if you still want to move to L.A. then it’s much closer.” Made sense to me. I am not sure why Joe would not have come to this since he lived in Portland but apparently it was just Lucinda and I.

The Mars Volta opened the show and they went off. Their whole set seemed like one big jam session but I did recognize “Roulette Dares” from De-Loused in the Comatorium. They also picked up the stage lights at the end and played around with them.

Thirteenth Step had officially been released since the last time I saw A Perfect Circle at Lollapalooza and it was exactly what my ears craved. As I write this I am listening to the original version of “The Nurse Who Loved Me” by Failure and did not realize until now that the song was a cover. Idiot! This was a VERY different show than the last time I saw Maynard here with Tool but then again Tool is a very different band than A Perfect Circle. I understand why Maynard wants to be at the back of the stage but he is much more entertaining doing his thing in the front.

SETLIST: Vanishing, Pet, The Hollow, Magdalena, Weak and Powerless, Rose, Blue, Fred’s Got Slacks (Will Ferrell cover), Thinking of You, Breña, The Package, 3 Libras, The Nurse Who Loved Me (Failure cover), Thomas, The Outsider, The Noose, Judith

Rock N Roll Recollections

Fuzzy recollections of bands that rocked my world

System of a Down 8/6/05

A Perfect Circle 4/10/04