Ah the SOMA. San Diego's answer to an all ages hot-box. Tonight's show was offered on the "side-stage" (which, for those of you unfamiliar with SOMA, is when they block off the main room, and the two step riser where bands normally set up their "For Sale Items" becomes the stage). When SOMA uses the "side stage," it's maybe 1/4 the size of the larger room, and the stage is about 1/3 the size, making the appearance very intimate. First up were SoCal locals "G-13." A loud-n-heavy rapcore group, they have a DJ that shares vocal duties with the singer, and scritches and scratches out some noise here and there, but I didn't hear any real impressive table work. Their set wasn't entirely bad, but it sort of plodded along on the same attack, and felt a bit unsure in its direction and confidence. "G-13" are basically "still trying to make a go of it," with the accent on "trying."

Orange County's "Dial-7" were set to take the stage next. Having just interviewed "Dial-7" before the show, I was anticipating the live interpretation of their Warner Bros. debut, "Never Enough Time." I swear they hit the stage running! Vocalist Shauny B came across the stage practically in mid-air, full of raw energy pure and simple. Vocal duties are split between Mike Lord and Shauny B, and an interesting division this is. Mr. Lord is the spirtual end of "Dial-7," while Shauny B is the rage. It's amazing watching them groove on the same jam. Lord can be all blissed out, a huge smile on his face, catching his groove, while Shauny B rages right next to him, teeth clenched and spit flying. This dynamic is really the shining point of "Dial-7" - at least live. Musically, "Dial-7" offer sort of a positively vibed rap-core, with a ska/soul influence. Think Downset meets Sublime. One of the many highlights was "Siete," where Shauny B dons a poncho and sombraro and spins around the stage in true Mexicali fashion. As competent as the rest of the band is on stage (all right, bass player Barrett was sort of stationary, but I know for a fact he was suffering from a bad case of the flu, so he's excused), it's Shauny B that has all eyes on him. Between his almost violent presence, kung-fu executed stage manuevers and gangsta barked raps, he not only keeps your attention - he fuckin' commands it!

In stark contrast is the suaveness of Mike Lord's approach. He's always flirting with the girls and does a lot of crowd interaction - like he's the touchpiece of the "Dial-7" live entity. That is, until Shauny B will comes crashin' over the rail into the crowd. The two manage to blend well though, and the out of hand behavior enhances, rather than detractcts from, how smooth their music comes across.

Make no mistake, this isn't another agnst filled, rap-core band - far from it! The "Dial-7" message is a more spitually charged, positive one, and is reflected through their entire set. The crowd seemed into it, if not entirely familiar with it. And no complaints about sound or execution. The only part I personally found a bit crass was when they finished the set. Both Lord and Shauny B grabbed a handfull of CDs and walked to the front of the stage waving them in the air. With this traditionally being the part of the show where the band sometimes will toss out a few freebies to the crowd, many hands reached out to receive a "Dial-7" disk. But Lord and Shauny B's repeated response was "8 Bucks!" I hate to say it, but it sort of came off like a couple of corner husslers trying to push their wares. I guess I understand "Dial-7's" point of view (especially since they were shouting out "Did you enjoy the show? Did you have a good time?....Then 8 bucks!"). But, all the kids knew exactly where the merchandise table was, so to stand there and pimp their wares seemed sort of self-inflating. On the other hand, if one wanted the CD, it might be nice to buy it from the band's frontmen instead of some roadie. I'd just never seen it done this way. Great set though. I'd pay to see it again.

"(hed)pe" has been on a constant rise in the SoCal scene, and I was eager to see if they lived up to all the good words and self-described "G-Punk" attitude I'd heard about previously. I'll tell you what, I'd go see "(hed)pe" any day just to witness their man, DJ Product, "the turntable arsonist." I was privileged enough to be standing stage left, right in front of his tables, to witness his manic abilities first hand. He brought out the band with some tricky sampling and knob riding, and he kind of "directs" (although I don't know if the rest of the band pays any attention to this) his way through songs like a classical director, waving his hands and pointing along the breaks when he isn't spinning some wax. He likes to knock his table around aggressively when the song gets out of hand, and if you're lucky, he'll pull out this sander and grind on a piece of metal he's got c-clamped to the side of his turn-table, sending sparks across the stage - pretty dangerous to the other members of the band on this small of a stage. He's also responsible for all the various noises and samples "(hed)pe" employs, including this weird tube thing he blew through to make an unholy whine.

"(hed)pe's" singer, M.C.U.D., was a whirl of tight dreads and pleasant words to the crowd, showcasing his smoother take on the rap/funk/soul-core sound. Both "(hed)pe" guitarists are very physical when playing, with lots of jumps, spins, crouches and lurches. Guitarist Chizad likes to use a talk-box effect a la Peter Framton, and does a lot of backing vocals, but in a washy, talk-box, porno-jam feel. He's also airborne a good portion of the time, but rips anyway.

This band is way tight considering all the elements being thrown in at once. "(hed) pe" is definitely part of the rap-core scene, but they have a slight porno-funk heaviness, and their DJ is among the best and most crazy I've witnessed in this genre. A very proper set indeed, and another band well worth the admission price.

The headliners, "System of a Down," were the obvious draw, since the tension mounted as the crowd waited for them to take the stage. The lights went down, and "System. . ." came out - Loudly! This band has been very busy since their album dropped last summer. Touring with Ozz Fest, and now out headlining their own show, I was expecting a lot. For the most part I got it. The weak link was "System's" bass player, Shavo Odadjian. I don't know if the crowd could distiguish it or not, but man, he flubs a lot of notes. Granted, he jumps around a lot, but if it affects your playing, I think it's truly better to sound good than look good (although in a live venue energy definitely should count for something). I just expected a more polished approach for all the extensive touring they've been doing.

Guitarist Daron Malakian is a freaky, squeaky little individual. He's got two-toned, mohawked hair, and weird eye paint, and he stalks around the stage making the most peculair faces, as he accents movements to the songs. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be scared, but he's one of the more original guitarists (not just in appearance) on the "new metal" scene, and executes everything from their disk with enthusiasm live.

"System of a Down" stuck to the library of songs from their self-titled debut (on American records, produced by legendary Slayer producer Rick Rubin), but one song ended with the main riff from Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" (although I'm not sure if the teeny-bopper crowd caught that) and the singer was like, "Thank you...thank all of you!" For a little extra dramatic flavor, singer Serj Tankian pulled out some cool skull marachas for one song.

As a unit, "System. . ." provide ample entertainment in a live setting, by crouching and swaying to visually amplify builds in the songs, and lots of happy pogo-ing. If anything, the problem (along with their bassist) was it seemed like this was just another show in an endless string of touring, and the band was just going through the motions. For as emotional as their music can get, this set just didn't hit with the same impact. This was not the tightest set, but it was not dissapointing either. More right up the middle, with many highs and a few lows. Pretty much just like their album - good for the fans, mediocre for the critics.