In December 2024, when System of a Down announced the presale of their North American Stadium Tour, I immediately messaged Steve, my old friend from my teenage years. I realized I haven’t seen System of a Down in 15 years!! I couldn’t miss out on this. What if it’s my last chance?
System of a Down announced dates in three different cities – New York City (really, New Jersey), Chicago, and Toronto. The first stadium date I saw was in NYC where Steve lived, so I knew he would be the perfect concert buddy. When I stumbled upon the other venues, I noticed there was a different co-headliner in each city – Korn in NYC, Avenged Sevenfold in Chicago, and Deftones in Toronto. DEFTONES?! So what do I do? I look up the driving distance and proposed a plan… he went for it! A couple days later, Steve scored the pre-sale tickets, and our trip unfolded.
Flash-forward to September 3rd, 2025, as a mom of two little ones, I get them on the bus and I start my 5-hour journey from Pittsburgh, PA to Toronto, ON. I had nightmares about getting to the border and forgetting my passport a month prior, so the obsessive compulsion I had about ensuring it was safely packed was out of this world. As I’m pulling out of my neighborhood, Steve texts me that he’s nearly to the terminal ready to fly out. “I’ll race you to the hotel,” I said. “That’s a funny way to look at your leisurely drive,” he responded. No way. It’s on.
I beat him to the hotel in Downtown Toronto with plenty of time to get ready for the show. On the subway, System of a Down fans slowly trickle in at every stop as we get closer to Rogers Stadium. Outside of the subway, one couple says, “You look like you’re going to the same place. We’ll follow you.”
Rogers Stadium is a temporary stadium built in summer 2025 in the Toronto suburb of Downsview, sponsored by Live Nation Entertainment, and can hold 50,000 people. It’s situated on the site of the former Downsview Airport. Exiting the station, there was no direct walking path to the stadium. You had to skirt the suburban roads outside of the gated Canadian federal defense R&D and military buildings with signs saying, “NO Entrance to Rogers Stadium.” Finally, we reach the entrance on the northwestern side with what seemed like 2-3 checkpoints for our tickets with food, drink, and bathroom amenities along a gravel roadway cutting through a field before reaching the REAL stadium entrance.
As soon as we enter the Fan Plaza, the lines around the merchandise tents and buildings are extensive. We quickly formulated a game plan to hit the Ferris wheel, followed by food, THEN the merch (as I was plotting to get a crop t-shirt). We were just in luck, there was no line at the Ferris Wheel, where we hopped right on to get a full view of the Fan Plaza and the fields around the stadium while nu metal was blasting all around us. But still, we couldn’t yet see inside the stadium. After the Ferris wheel, we went straight for poutine, because when in Canada… you must eat poutine. When we finally made it to the Merchandise, I had a personal crisis – I hated the crop t-shirt but the cropped SOAD hoodie was to die for… The merch building was said to be open until midnight after the show, but what if they didn’t have my size?! I was going to be in the pit… what if it fell off? WHAT IF I CROWD SURF?! I bought it anyways. This could be the last time I see System live! I tied it around my waist with the body of the hoodie on my front, tucked the arms into my shorts, and bravely went on my way.
As we made our way to the entrance of the stadium, we followed the “Floor” signs, only to be quickly redirected by the attendants to walk all the way around to the side of the stadium. What seemed like the second longest hike of the day brought us to enter the floor from the limited space between the stands and where the speakers started at the stage. The front pit was completely separated from the back floor, making the pit an intimate experience.
When we entered the pit, Wisp was playing as the opening band. The loudest sound system I ever heard (to memory) was blasting into the stadium. Steve quickly pivoted to find some ear plugs, free at the Guest Services tent. When we got back in the pit, Wisp’s lead singer, Natalie R. Lu, the most adorable blonde lead singer to any metal band I’ve ever seen, gave a major shout-out to the rest of the bands of the evening before concluding their set.
As the second band, Polyphia, entered the stage, I realized I was still anxious from the same-day road trip plus the scramble to the stadium. Leaving Steve to hold down our spots in the pit, I went to get us some drinks to take the edge off. Back in the pit, we vibed to the instrumental music of the Texas band. Despite not being able to see the stage, because everyone in the pit seemed like skyscrapers compared to my 5-foot-4-inch stature, I did take notice of the vastly different styles of the entire band. You had the beautiful, legendary Tim Henson with his full neck tattoos and wispy, well-cut hair on guitar who seemed so happy and tranquil throughout the entire set. Then there was Clay Gober on bass, who rocked his long hair and metal look. The drummer, Clay Aeschliman, too hidden to see behind my wall of people. And last, but not least, Scott LePage on guitar with his camo print t-shirt calling for the crowd to “Sing the Riff” during their song “Champagne” and demanding a Wall of Death during their set… right where I was standing, with a full drink in my hand. The crowd pushed aside as I was working to get a safe spot to protect my beverage – impossible for what I was about to be thrown into. As the crowd rushed to the center, a few splashes later (all over my new hoodie and arm), I felt fairly safe from what would be the first real mosh of the night.
Remaining where we stood in the pit, around 7 bodies between us and the front barricade before the stage, we waited for Deftones to come out. At 7:20, the sun was still up, the weather was perfect, and Deftones arrived on stage. Now, I’m a huge fan of Deftones’ sound and I could probably name and sing along with about 20 minutes or so of their music, but to prepare for the show, I made sure to religiously listen to them for a week before the show. With their new album, Private Music, released on August 22nd, I knew they would sprinkle their newest songs throughout the set. Deftones opened with “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” and “My Own Summer (Shove It)”. The energy of the pit was high immediately, as the crowd screamed along. I knew right away I needed a good place to see the band, so I moved around to situate myself to see between the tall guys around me. Squished like sardines near the front of the pit, Steve and I spent 90% of the set moving with the crowd as everyone pushed in every direction and the tallest people in our vicinity attempted to muscle their way to the front.
As Deftones played, the sun slowly set. “Change (In the House of Flies)” began with its calming riffs and vocals. Darkness had overcome the stadium with the entire stage lit up red. The entire crowd stood still, engulfed in the trance-like vocals of Chino Moreno until the song broke into chorus and we once again were pushed side to side, but this time following the rhythm of the song. Finally, I rallied Steve to back out of the pit by another several people so we could enjoy the last part of the set standing with our feet firmly on the ground. From there, I turned around to view the crowd, not realizing the size of the venue and the once-empty spaces filled for the sold-out show.
After Deftones left the stage, there was the typical mass exodus of people leaving the crowd for their potty break (Steve is going to make fun of me for saying “potty” – as a mom, I find this completely normal). Within this mass exodus were the giant people who were trying to push their way to the front. I yelled “WHAT WAS THE POINT?!” Light-heartedly, of course, knowing they had the height and mass advantage to just be able to do it again during System’s set.
As the crowd waited for System of a Down, the pit broke out singing “Duality” by Slipknot while it was playing on the speakers for the intermission. The stadium glowed red from the large sign on the screen saying “FLARES DETECTED? GET EJECTED,” an ode to the epic videos of fire from the Brazilian System of a Down stadium tour earlier in the year. The intermission music was cut off abruptly, signaling to the crowd to start chanting, “System! System!” The first time was a fake out and the radio music started again. Only 5 minutes later, Daron came on stage with his “Soldier Side – Intro” solo, quickly transitioning to the metal riffs of “BYOB.” The crowd erupted.
At this moment… I knew. I handed Steve all my belongings shortly into the set, keeping my subway pass and cell phone for the worst-case scenario. “Are you going to be able to find me?” I had no doubt I would be able to make it back. This wasn’t the first time I crowd surfed.
The audience danced and moshed as the lights flickered and political messages scrolled across the screens on stage. With incredible energy, everyone was completely engulfed in the music. System of a Down played “Prison Song” early in the set, everyone repeating the lyrics – facts about the American prison system and ties to politics and capitalism. System of a Down has always been historically, as well as currently, accurate in their lyrics and messaging, but something about this tour happening at this moment in time felt poetic.
When “Radio/Video” began, the pit broke out in dance with “Danny and Lisa” (if you know, you know), fans skipping around the floor. When the sweet guitar notes of “ATWA” began with Serj’s soft voice, I knew this was it. I signaled to some bigger guys (bigger than me) by me and asked for a boost up as the music hit the first metal breakdown. I crowd surfed smoothly towards the front of the stage, to be met by several security guards and a collection of valuables from the crowd surfers at the base of the barrier. As I tried to run back out into the pit from between the stage and the barrier, security aggressively signaled for me to slow down, so I met them with a fist bump and made my way back around. As I was admiring the size of the crowd on the walk back, a drone lit up blue whizzed past me (which I now know is @thedroneguytoronto on Instagram, and his first show at the stadium!). The view of the entire stage set up from the side of the pit was mesmerizing as I made my way back into the crowd to find Steve.
A couple songs later, Daron shouted to the stadium “I wanna see you jump!,” chanting “Pogo, pogo, pogo, pogo.” System played “Bounce” as the pit began to jump in full force. And if there is ANYTHING I learned from this night, with my thin shoes and short stature, if the people around you bounce, you bounce, and oh… we bounced!
Being in the pit – as chaotic, sweaty, and physically overwhelming it can be due to no space but constant pushing – reminds me of how despite the madness, how much humanity there still is. At one point, a girl was pushed completely backwards, and I scooped her arms up with cat-like reflexes to make sure she didn’t hit the ground. I witnessed multiple people pass out throughout the night and the entire area of the crowd signaling for a medic and/or hauling the individuals to safety. When people’s shoes were untied, we formed barriers around them to make sure they could tie them safely. At one point, I was knocked backwards and someone stepped on my leg – as angry as I was, one man pulled me up and made sure I was okay (despite the nasty look on my face). The pit is intense, it’s scary, the air was stale, but we’re all there for the same reason… and we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Admittedly, most of the band’s talking was difficult to hear from the pit… I think the fans around me were so loud, muffling Daron and Serj’s voices, but the shouted commands came in perfectly clear.
In the middle of “Toxicity,” the second to last song, the music slowed. Daron sang, “round, round, round and round. Everybody goin’ around,” as the riffs picked back up and the crowd began creating circle pits across the floor of the stadium – including one right in front of the stage exactly where I was standing. The crowd went wild, running in circles, as Serj screamed the lyrics, “What do you own the world? How do you own disorderrrrrrrrrr?!”
After Toxicity wrapped up, I turned around to Steve knowing what was next. “I’m not coming back. I’ll meet you by the gate.”
“THE KOMBUCHA MUSHROOM PEOPLE SITTING AROUND ALL DAY.” Easily one of my top 5 System songs, “Sugar,” started playing and up I went for the last crowd surf of the night. As I came back around the barrier into the crowd, I danced, I headbanged, and I admired the view of System of a Down on stage in what I hoped wouldn’t be the last time… but in case it was, I had to soak it in. As the Serj sang his fast-paced lyrics, in his second verse, he playfully sang, “What the fuck am I singing” as he danced to the guitar tune before Daron broke out screaming “SUUUUUUUGAR.” A magnificent end to the night.
As System began saying goodbye to the fans, my eyes welled up with tears from the night. I’ve seen them two other times in two other cities 15 and 20 years ago, and they were still an entire experience to witness.
The band acknowledged the crowd for several minutes after their set. John threw sticks into the fans, one whizzing past me and bouncing off the floor to hit a teenage girl – she couldn’t have been any older than 13. Three men dove to get the stick. The one man who won the scramble graciously gave it to the girl, the young fan.
And cue the waterworks again at the memory of the entire night already formulating in my brain.
Overall, System of a Down’s performance was the same as I remember. Their stage presence was captivating, they all had the same goofy, rock and roll energy with their political and capitalist societal rebellion, Daron and Serj’s vocal were just as magical, the band members are just a little older… but aren’t we all?
If you’re wondering about exiting Rogers Stadium, the merch booths were open until midnight, I only found one of the several dozen food/drink stations open, and people just hung out on the lawn and at the tables until they were told to leave. The stadium also opened one of the gravel roads that met up with the driveways for the federal buildings for a quicker exit to the subway.
Also, if you’re wondering, my hoodie survived around my waist through all the moshing and crowd surfing. After I washed it, I wore it for two days straight.