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Seferian: Tanking Up on Music and Activism: Serj Tankian in Yerevan

Tankian: ‘Wherever a majority do not think, democracy cannot exist’

YEREVAN (A.W.)—Some would call it a historical first, while others are already used to big names performing in Yerevan. However you would have it, Serj Tankian certainly created a stir in more than one way with his concert at Yerevan’s Hamalir (the Karen Demirchian Sports and Culture Complex) on Thurs., Aug. 12.

Tankian performed in Yerevan on Aug. 12.

Organized by Deem Communications and Fugitive Studios, the event had corporate sponsorship and received additional support from the office of the prime minister himself. The latter is known as a rock fan, and has helped bring such celebrated bands as Jethro Tull and Deep Purple to perform in Armenia in recent years.

There was no doubt that Serj Tankian did not fall behind in terms of star power, as the Hamalir was filled to capacity. And even with a late start, the opening act by Viza—another Los Angeles-based band with more than one Armenian connection—was well received, before the man himself came on to excited shouts and applause.

The crowd was pretty wild, and had more than one active and interactive contingent, with shouts of “I love you, Serj!” or even “LA loves you!” often resounding in the concert hall. Tankian himself, despite some technical difficulties and sometimes halting command over Armenian, was visibly excited and put on a memorable show.

Serj Tankian is well known for his activism both on and off the stage. His short time in Armenia, about a day or so, did not lack any efforts in either direction. A group of young environmental activists, declaring Tankian their “eco-hero,” put on a show of welcome on the road from the airport, as well as at the hotel where Tankian was staying. The star approached the group and exchanged a few words of encouragement, and even took a bite out of a melon that was offered to him. The group is, in particular, attempting to stave off government-backed plans on rendering the Teghout forest in the north of the country into a copper mine, and is also helping promote the use of bicycles as a means of transport in Armenia. For his part, Tankian spoke a little bit on the necessity of respecting the environment during the concert itself, as an introduction to a song.

He also made a couple of political statements in the course of the concert, such as: “Wherever a majority do not think, democracy cannot exist,” and “The Armenian people can tear down any [expletive] wall,” or words to that effect. It was not terribly clear, however, whether his words were comprehensible, or whether many in the audience would concern themselves with such matters within the context of the concert, especially if they were expressed below a certain number of decibels.

Regardless, the much-anticipated presence of Serj Tankian heated things up in the already-warm atmosphere of the Armenian capital, and the people of Yerevan—young or old, prime minister or otherwise—look forward to similar events.

Nareg Seferian
Nareg Seferian has lived, studied and worked in New Delhi, Yerevan, Santa Fe, Boston, Vienna, Istanbul and Washington, DC. His writings can be read at naregseferian.com.
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7 Comments To "Seferian: Tanking Up on Music and Activism: Serj Tankian in Yerevan"

#1 Comment By Osik On August 13, 2010 @ 1:03 pm

Cool I wish I was there, last month I downloaded some of his SOAD era videos and I enjoy it with my 9 & 6 years Scout grandchildren; I guess it (his part) was all in English; I’m old and I love my beautiful ancient language but not fanatically, yes it works in LA he attracts and captivates masses but not in Armenia where majority voting layer of population have no clue what is he talking about I’m not sure if our PM understood a word or he was just nodding to the rhythms.
My point is that the music part of it I can’t dispute with; because music is in an international common format which doesn’t have any limitations and boarders and it just captivates masses regardless where and who; but that format (The music) unfortunately  is not capable to relay political messages to masses by itself; so if his goal was to send a message to local masses then I doubted that he was successful.
This kind of “Demonstration” was to soon for Armenia; it works only in the countries that Democracy has deep roots in the hearts and minds of its entire population; that is down to top layers; otherwise it is harmful because it could just agitate bunch of youngsters sending them to confront with hot bullets again or down deep into “Khor Virab”s; when flat/big belly officials are still nodding to the rhythms.         

#2 Comment By Ani On August 14, 2010 @ 1:33 pm

Osik May be you don’t know,but younger generation in Armenia speaks and understands English very well :) and is well educated enough to know what democracy is.I don’t think USA is a  democratic country,if it was ,Serj wouldn’t be so popular here…

#3 Comment By FooFree On August 20, 2010 @ 5:58 pm

You can download the firt track of his new album on his website:

http://fbwidget1.warnerbrosrecords.com/serj/