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Rating: Going to see dear Sergino Tankian at the Auditorium Parco della Musica was like meeting up with an old friend who has changed circles: there is the curiosity to know how he's doing, what his new musical associations are, and—above all—to see how he's faring in the new fields he has chosen. Heading to the Roman auditorium of Renzo Piano's design, located in the Parioli area, my pre-concert excitement was just tinged with a certain indescribable fear about the outcome of this latest symphonic experiment. Bringing together orchestral sounds with rock is never easy, especially with one that's more or less metal-styled. The Metallica tried a decade ago, but the result was not the happiest, perhaps because the hybrids born from bass/guitar/drums plus the orchestra behind them went nowhere.
The auditorium's Cavea is a semi-elliptical space that harkens back to Greco-Roman tradition, but reimagined in contemporary forms. Personally, I like the Auditorium, although when wandering through its corridors I've sometimes had the peculiar sensation of being in a gigantic parish hall, perhaps because of the ochre brickwork that covers it, or due to contemporary architecture that in the late twentieth century spared not even churches. Anyway, sitting there, the three enormous shell-shaped rooms loomed over us like immense spaceships on the pleasant summer evening. Judging by the audience turnout, Serj must have had considerable success with his solo album (released three years ago, editor's note), as by the start time it numbered around two thousand to two thousand five hundred people. Scheduled for nine o'clock, it took quite a bit of encouragement from the Cavea stands ("Ser-gio-Ser-gio"), but at nine fifteen, the lights dimmed, and five minutes later, the audience applause welcomed the forty-piece Italian Philharmonic Orchestra, plus piano and acoustic guitar.
Finally, there he is, dressed in white, the good Serj Tankian, who yields to the conductor and then walks on stage, greeting us with a smile. The orchestra kicks off with "Feed Us" (which, by coincidence, is my favorite on "Elect the Dead"). It is followed by a reading of "Borders", which I believe is one of his poems, specifically about the boundaries different cultures impose on humanity. During the performance of "Sky is Over", the impression that Serj's voice absolutely commands the situation is confirmed, and the choice of symphonic-lyrical arrangements is no accident. The best, however, is yet to come, and indeed here are "Money" and "Baby", whose melodic lines are best enhanced by strings and acoustic guitar. Serj feels very much at ease on stage, and is definitely on form: the synchronization between the sonic flow of the orchestra and his movements is perfect; at times he seems to blissfully soar over the notes he has composed. Apparently, the songs added on "Elect the Dead Symphony" were born together with the orchestra, given that "Blue" and the beautiful "Gate 21" (the only piece where Serj sat at the piano) were the emotional high points of the evening.
I've never seen System of A Down live, but Serj alone is truly exuberant: he interacts with the audience and repeatedly introduces the orchestra's musicians, even venturing into Italian ("Buonasera, bellissima Italia.."), instantly creating an intimate, almost magical atmosphere. "Peace Be Revenged" and "Charades", other tracks included in "Elect the Dead Symphony", begin to bring out more a certain epicism in the arrangements, reaching its peak with the triumph of brass and drums in "Saving Us". There's also room for an unreleased song ("Disowned", which immediately seemed very beautiful to me). At a certain point, Serj turns around, giving his back to the audience. "Excusi!.." he tells us while conspiring with the conductor and some musicians. We were wondering if they were instructions on key changes in minor keys or something, but the first violinist whispers something unmistakable. Serj's latest practical Italian lesson reveals the mystery: "This song in Italian is called Beethoven's Cunt.." Roar from the Cavea.
When it seems the concert is about to close and Serj lists the evening's credits, honoring the audience with compliments in Italian (ahò.. he likes it..), he starts to leave, but no one believes it: the instrumentalists remain in their places, betraying the old star trick (call them back in, 40-piece orchestra!..) and from the Cavea, we're even more encouraged to loudly call Serj back on stage. A minute later, there he is, reappearing on stage to perform what had until then been the great absentee of the evening: "Empty Walls". It's the grand finale, and he invites us to rise from our seats and join him at the stage front. He shakes hands and greets the enthusiastic crowd. Someone hands him an Armenian flag, and in the end, the white sprite who has masterfully entertained us for an hour and a quarter bids us farewell, hopping away even more smiling than when he entered. He certainly has personality, just as this project of his is so different from the crossover/thrash metal sounds of System. The fears I had at the beginning of the evening have proven unfounded: Serj has rightly focused on a completely orchestral setup for the songs, adding only piano and guitar. The extra dash is that vaguely lyrical attitude that suits Tankian's beautiful voice so well. And the experiment, in my opinion, has succeeded, even though in these guises it's hard to recreate the "punch" the electric version of the disc provides. Perhaps, though, all things considered, that wasn't the goal.
Sergino! Will he ever return to play with System of A Down? Judging by what I saw and heard last night, I don't believe so. Unless it's for out-of-place, pathetic reunions like those that are so in vogue lately. The fact is he's taking very different paths, too different, and having observed what a playful and charismatic personality Serj has, I find it easy to imagine that perhaps that's precisely the origin of the separation from System. It's tough to musically compete with someone like him, on one hand, and even tougher to be confined to the same old four chords already played when you feel the need to grow and experiment.
Setlist:
Feed Us
Borders (reading)
Sky is Over
Lie lie lie
Money
Baby
Blue
Gate 21
Peace be revenged
The Charade
Honking Antelope
Saving Us
Disowned
Elect the Dead
Falling Stars
Beethoven's Cunt
Empty Walls
(Photo by Beatrice Fiaschi)
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Feed Us (07:29)
Maybe we believe
She was ready to go
In the morning light
Maybe you believe
That she was made of gold
In the east where you killed her
You lead us
When you need to feed us
You comfortably delete us
When you need your fetus
You cheat us when you feed us with the lie
Stars look out and,
Cheat us when you feed us with the lie
Stars look out,
Goodbye, Goodbye
She speaks unrehearsed
Languages from skin
In the morning light
Painting shadows on the
faces of the dead
In front of their widows
You cheat us when you feed us with the lie
Stars look out and,
Cheat us when you feed us with the lie,
Before its too late,
Do you know that life is ending
As we go, the dots connecting
We had our chance to save the garden
As it dies, our souls will harden
With these words chastising your conscience
We're breaking through and praying for transcendence
But you deceived us all now,
You cheat us when you feed us with the lie
Stars look out and,
Cheat us when you feed us with the lie
Stars look out,
Cheat us when you feed us with the lie
Stars look out and,
Cheat us when you feed us with the lie
Stars look out.
03 Sky Is Over (03:09)
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
That you cradle the sun, sun
Living in remorse
Sky is over
Don't you want to hold me baby
Disappointed, going crazy
Even though we can't afford
The sky is over
Even though we can't afford
The sky is over
I don't want to see you go
The sky is over
Even though we can't afford
The sky is over
Behind closed eyes lie
The minds ready to awaken you
Are you at war with land
And all of its creatures
Your not-so-gentle persuasion
Has been known to wreck economies
Of countries, of empires, the sky is over
Don't you want to hold me baby
Disappointed, going crazy
Not even from the sun
Not even from the sun
Not even from the sun
Don't you want me to run
Even though you can't afford
The sky is over
Even though we can't afford
The sky is over
I don't want to see you go
The sky is over
Even though we can't afford
The sky is over
I don't want to see you go
The sky is over
Even though we can't afford
The sky is over
I don't want to see you go
The sky is over
Even though we can't afford
The sky is over
The sky is over us
04 Lie Lie Lie (03:58)
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
My baby, my baby,
Let me know
because you love me, you love me
Let me go
And you're my lover, you pay me
Twice my size
And on your knees you lay
In my thighs
Take my hand and lets end it all
She broke her little bones
On the boulders below
Take my hand and lets end it all
My baby, my baby
Let me go
And if you love me, you love me
Let me go
Cause I'm your brother, your brother
Have some pride
And now you love me, you love me
Then die tonight
Take my hand and lets end it all,
She broke her little bones
On the boulders below
Take my hand and lets end it all
Broke her little bones
On the boulders below
And while she fell I delightfully said
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
She took my hand and I let her go
She broke her little bones
On the boulders below
Took my hand and she ended it all
Broke her little bones on the boulders below
And while she fell, I smiled.
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
Lalalalalalalala lie lie lie
05 Money (03:29)
Money,
All for money
Save your money,
Hide your money,
Stuff your money,
Hump your money
Keep your money
All for money,
Waning patience
People's appetite
Disposition
This possession
Dispossessed from all the attractions,
Dancing bears of eroticism,
Self absorbed delusion
Inclusion of dysfunction,
I now await the triumphant
Lost baggage, train station,
The causes of ineptitude
Can be traced to my mandatory down,
The causes of my servitude
Can be traced to the tyranny of
Money,
All for money,
Make your money,
Hide your money,
Stuff your money,
Hump your money
Save your money
All for money,
My final surrender
Away from inclusion
I now await the triumphant,
Left baggage, train station,
The causes of ineptitude
Can be traced to my mandatory down,
The causes of my servitude
Can be traced to the tyranny of a down,
The causes of ineptitude
Can be traced to my mandatory down,
The causes of my servitude
Can be traced to the tyranny of
Money,
All for money,
Make your money,
Hide your money,
Stuff your money,
Hump your money
Save your money
All for money,
Money, money, money, money
06 Baby (03:41)
You came to me within a dream
Not everyone is who they seem
All these words we cant redeem
Like the great magic of our world
Corroborated by your words
Splitting planets into thirds
Baby oh baby
Baby my baby
Baby ooh babe
I miss you, lalalala
Baby oh baby
Baby my babe
Baby ooh babe
I miss you
To all the leaves that fall in vain
While god and goddess go insane
All these words in your domain
The watches kill time as the books read
Inadvertently we bleed
Fighting for what we deceive
Baby oh baby
Baby my baby
Baby ooh babe
I miss you, lalalala
Baby oh baby
Baby my babe
Baby ooh babe
I miss you
Leave me alone
Leave me alone
Now why can't you see that you always
perturb me so
Nearing the end of the world, just leave me
alone,
Leave me alone
Why can't you see that you always perturb me
so
Nearing the end of the world, leave me alone,
Leave me alone
Baby oh baby
Baby my baby
Baby ooh babe
I miss you, lalalala
Baby oh baby
Baby my babe
Baby ooh babe
I miss you
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