Image: Cigaro - Daron Malakian with Peephole System of a Down Tribute 2025.08.30 Cubby Bear Chicago [YouTube]
It was supposed to be just a regular show for the System Of A Down cover band, named after the song “Peephole.” But afterwards, they will never forget this night – just like System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian, who happened to have a day off in the city at the same time. While taking photos at Wrigley Field in Chicago, he heard the familiar sounds of the song “Needles” and followed the music into a bar, where he came across Peephole’s concert. There, he spontaneously performed the song “Cigaro” with them.
Peephole reflected on the moment on Instagram:
"Last night the unthinkable happened. @daronmalakian from @systemofadown just so happened to be in the neighborhood and heard us playing from the street! So he came in, said what’s up and then sang Cigaro with us! We are still shocked by this amazing moment. A dream come true for us! We love SOAD with all of our hearts and cannot believe how fortunate we are. What an amazing human and musician! Daron, thank you so much for this!"
But Daron Malakian was equally moved and also wrote about the memories this meeting gave him:
"Let me start by saying None of this was planned. We had a day off before our show in Chicago and I went out to dinner and after I decided to go take some pictures around town with @gregwatermann. We didn’t plan on going to Wrigley Field, but we ended up there. While we were taking photos in front of the stadium I heard the intro to Needles from a bar across the street. My cousin who was with me said that he thought it was karaoke. I decided to walk across the street and go into the bar and found that it was a @systemofadown cover band called @peepholesoad. I walked right to the front of the stage and surprised the band and the audience. This was all so spontaneous. The look on everyone’s faces was priceless. To be honest, I was just as surprised as anyone else was that this was happening. I joined the band and sang Cigaro, shook their hands, took some pictures with the fans in the audience, and walked out of the place. I can only imagine what a shock it was for everyone there after I left. It all happened so fast. The odds of this happening were so slim. Probably had a better chance of getting struck by lightning. So many stars had to align for me to end up at the right place and right time. One of the coolest moments I’ve ever had!!!
I’ll always remember this night, and I’m sure everyone that was there will never forget it either!!!!!!"
You can relive the memorable performance in the video here:
