System of a Down Provide Life Experience at Riot Fest

Tim Wenger | September 3, 2015

words by Tim Wenger

photos by Dave Wruck

I didn’t realize that I know the words to just about every System of a Down song. I never really considered myself much of a fan, they were always just a band that my quasi-metal/grunge stoner friends listened to in the car back in high school and college, that I respected because of the conscious lyrics that fit with the anti-Bush rhetoric of that time, (and because it was better than most of the other stuff they listened to). But holy crap. That was hands down, far and away the best live performance I have ever seen in my entire life. There is more talent in that band than the rest of Riot Fest put together. They needed no stage props, no gimmicks, no jokes, no calls for the crowd to liven up.
I looked around me at one point during the set and saw multiple people on the brink of tears, some had clearly already passed that point. Whatever people paid for a ticket to Riot Fest, that set alone was worth it. If you missed last night, you really missed a life experience. The guy that was standing behind us was screaming so loud that I could almost pick out the moment when he started losing his voice. He obviously had, like thousands of other people there, been waiting for years to see that band. I imagine the only comparable live experience would be Rage Against The Machine.

I’ve never been compelled to wake up and write a show review on Facebook before but that was really something special, must have meant so much to their longtime fans.