Article by Giulio Taminelli| Photo by Henry Ruggeri And Andrea Ripamonti
The concert of system of a Down to I-Days of Milan has been, since the announcement, one of the most anticipated events of the 2026 musical summer. The band of Serj Tankian and companions, who had not been on the stage in Italy for almost a decade, was in fact able to get the 78,500 tickets which mark the sold out for theSnai La Maura racecourse. In short, a concert that from the very first moments had all the potential to become one of those events that can be proudly told about to friends, especially due to the presence at the opening of the Queens of the Stone Age and those recently reformed Acid Bath. Have expectations been met? Let's find out together.
The Queens of the Stone Age: sometimes you need more time
THE QOTSAthe cornerstone of the stoner movement and cult band of the 90s who rebelled against the inevitability of modern society, make their entrance on the stage of the hippodrome to the tune of Regular John from their debut album Queens of the Stone Age of 1998. Looking at the set list of the performance, I believe that the choice of this track was not random, since during the concert at least one song was played for every album released from '98 to today, with the exception of Villains of 2017 (one day I will understand why almost all the bands of the 90s decide not to include in their setlist the songs released in the second half of the decade 2010-2020). Needless to say, he was the protagonist on stage Josh Homme. An imposing figure, both in terms of physique and stage management and awareness of his role in the history of contemporary music. Despite some blunders with the volumes of the first two pieces probably due to technical problems, the Milan audience was able to enjoy his performance and his ability to move people simply by playing without problems. Many great artists incite the crowd, rally the audience or start the chants. Homme manages to make all this happen simply by playing in a tank top and dedicating himself body and soul to the music.
There's no denying it, the performance wasn't always perfect but it didn't have to be. The stoner is by nature dirty and we like it that way. Indeed, the addition of psychedelic sequences to the video made everything even more unique. The only flaw of the performance was the duration, about an hour. Obviously a concert by an opening group can't last longer, but I would have liked to have had a more complete vision of the band. The concert I attended, however, although I didn't dislike it, seemed more like a race towards the final three songs Go With the Flow, No One Knows and A Song for the Dead Of Song of the Deaf. I understand that ultimately everyone wanted to hear that, but it seemed like a wasted opportunity to be able to tell something more.
System of a Down: How many songs can you play in less than two hours?
If Josh Homme is the only point of reference for QOTSA, the same cannot be said for i system of a Down. Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian And John Dolmayan are four complete artists, independent of each other, and the concert of I-Days he proved it. The stage, an enormous structure as befits events of this magnitude, became very small in the eyes of the fans in an instant when these four giants played the first notes of Soldier Side and then move straight to one BYOB which, like the bombs mentioned in the title, blew up the audience at the racecourse.
Screams, whispers, meows and rantings. For i SOAD anything goes in order to convey one's message to a crowd which, judging by the chants, moshes and ovations, seemed to receive it extraordinarily well. As regards the choice of songs, although the setlist had representation for every album released by the combo, a clear prevalence of songs from Toxicitythe band's second effort released in 2001 and entered the hearts of fans of all ages. On the other hand, even from a strictly logical point of view it was clear that System would have leveraged the great classics to keep the morale of those present high despite the almost thirty songs. Having not released anything since 2005 except singles Protect the Land And Genocidal Humanoidz of 2020, the show necessarily had to take on the appearance of a big one “Greatest Hits”.
The only big flaw in my opinion, here too, was the rush. Twenty-nine songs in about an hour and forty (maybe a little more) were a godsend for all the band's fans, but the risk in these cases is creating, in the long run, the “Spotify compilation” effect. As a reviewer, I am honestly torn on this issue, because if on the one hand this enormous chase for hits has managed wonderfully to quench the musical thirst of an audience that had been dry for a decade, on the other it left no time for anything more elaborate than a simple “Thank you Milan”. Of course, the songs of SOAD they send out very clear messages, but hearing a few more phrases from a band of this level could very well have been worth a few less songs in the set list. In conclusion, a great concert in which the fans put their soul much more than the band did.
Acid Bath, the concert that many (including me) have not seen, and people's distrust towards summer concerts
Yes, I admit my faults: I do Acid Bath I couldn't see them. Their concert was scheduled for 5.10pm and, in principle, it would have been enough to arrive thirty minutes early to be able to settle down, beer in hand, in your favorite place and enjoy them. As bad luck would have it, from the barrier in Milan to the exit leading to the racecourse area, two trucks stopped in the middle of the lanes, giving many headaches to the concertgoers. My full solidarity with the two drivers, it couldn't have been easy to manage a similar situation, but it is undeniable that it brought problems to the show. So I found myself at 5.20pm wandering on foot towards the racecourse among a sea of SOAD fans and, as I walked, I minded a bit of their business. In addition to realizing the large number of foreigners who had arrived in Italy specifically for the concert, I had to note, despite myself, that many, now aware of the delay, preferred to stop in the bars in the streets surrounding the racecourse instead of entering immediately. “With this heat, I won't go in there until before QOTSA” was a phrase I heard while heading to the checkout. I've been attending the big summer concerts for a few years now and I feel like, for once, I can break a chord in favor of this I-Days. The possibility of bringing your own water bottle and the free water refill points significantly improved the perception of the event and, as long as you didn't queue right at the end of a performance, the times were also relatively short. Obviously there is still a long way to go on several fronts, but it is a first step that I believe should be appreciated and accepted without distrust or indignation towards “It's raining, thieving government” at the first unexpected event.
System of a Down's setlist
Soldier Side – Intro
BYOB
Suite-Pee
Chic 'N' Stu
Prison Song
Violent Pornography
Aerials
IEAIAIO
Darts
Genocidal Humanoidz
Needles
Deer Dance
Radio/Video
Dreaming
Hypnotize
ATWA
Bounce
Suggestions
Psycho
Chop Suey!
Lonely Day
Lost in Hollywood
Attempts
Spiders
Forest
DAM
War?
Toxicity
Sugar
The Queens of the Stone Age setlist
Regular John
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Sick, Sick, Sick
The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died
Paper Machete
My God Is the Sun
Ocean
Little Sister
Go With the Flow
No One Knows
A Song for the Dead
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
