I saw SOAD years ago, when they were touring for Toxicity, like 2002 or so. I don’t recall Serj making any statements or going on any rants back then, either. The way they ended the show was kind of strange too: they walked off stage immediately after performing the encore. House lights came on before they’d fully made it backstage. Background music played over the house speakers as well. Whole crowd was caught kind of off-guard, we all hesitated for a couple minutes before we figured out it was over.

MSI and Clutch opened. My girlfriend at the time didn’t care for MSI but hey, I get it, they’re not for everyone. We’ve been married 19 years now, Sugar is still her favorite SOAD song.