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Winnipeg Review 09/22

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te_core

Posted: Sep 23, 2005 - 06:24 PM

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Joined: Mar 13, 2005
Posts: 18

I don't consider myself to be a massive system fan (but a fan none the less) and I have seen a lot of good shows in my time, but SOAD's show last night at the Winnipeg MTS centre was by far one of the best I've ever experienced.

Hella took the stage late at about 7:30. They were alright for the most part with songs that sounded more like heavy jam sessions than actual songs and some of the craziest drumming I've ever seen. They finished their set at 8:00 and set up for Mars Volta began. The stage crew
seemed to be taking their sweet ass time setting up especially while the show was already running late. Finally, (not sure of the actual time) Mars Volta took the stage. I wasn't sure what to expect with these guys but I thought they were actually pretty good...unique anyway. There must have been like 8 of them on stage playing an assortment of instrument (not sure what all they were playing but there was a saxophone and a flute involved at one point) to a continuous stream of unique beats and temp shifts. I do see now though what people mean by them playing for way to long. Finally, Mars Volta finished and the set up for system began.

Once again the crew seemed to be taking their time with the set up and I found out why later. Apparently, due to airport backup caused by Hurricane Rita, System was on a late flight from LA and the show had to be slowed down to accommodate their late arrival time. By this time, the arena had filled up pretty tight (the attendance was around 8500). Finally, the lights went out, everyone raised from their seats, and Daron's silhouette appeared behind a huge black cloth with the Mezmerize logo on it. Like previous concerts, he started into Soldier Side but a minute through, cut into the BYOB starting riff and with the first drum beat, the cloth fell and the crowd took off. They played the usual set, but I think they might have left out 'Kill Rock'n Roll' (I don't remember it being played anyway). They went from one song to the next, rarely stopping to say anything (which I liked). They did stop near the beginning of the set to ask the floor to step back because, as Daron put it, "So people don't die". They also stopped near the end of the set where Daron said (or something to the effect of) "We've never been to Winnipeg before, but we will come back, until then it will always be home to the Winnipeg Jets" (for those who are unsure, the Winnipeg Jets were a pro hockey team that left Winnipeg years ago, hahaha). As for the music, I was amazed with how good they sounded (I've heard many of their live recordings and they don't do them any justice). The band wasn't as mobile as they could have been, but they did their fair share of spinning, jumping, etc. All-in-all, one great show.

Looking in the paper the day after, the show received a 4.5/5 rating. Pretty good for a band whom most people in Winnipeg haven't even heard of. Pictures from the show and a brief review can be found here:

http://www.truenorthproject.mb.ca/press ... ress_id=77