THE HYPE SYMPTOM OF A DOWNER LACK OF PREPARATION, UNEXPECTED CROWDS TRIGGER RIOT AMONG BAND'S FANS.

Poor planning and lack of security on the part of organizers led to a melee after a free Labor Day show by Glendale aggro-rockers System of a Down was canceled at the last minute, police said.

Ultimately, System had no system to deal with the large crowd of rowdy fans that had begun gathering early Monday in a Hollywood parking lot on Schrader Boulevard near Sunset, where the 5 p.m. concert was to take place.

When police called off the show before a single note was struck, some members of the 9,000-strong crowd threw rocks and rushed the stage, stealing and destroying the band's equipment, said Los Angeles Police Capt. Michael Downing, commanding officer of the Hollywood division.

``It was a very poorly planned event,'' he said. ``Police were not involved in the planning stages at all. It was declared an unlawful assembly and the situation went from crowd management to crowd control.''

In a radio interview Tuesday, the band's frontman, Serj Tankian, refused to blame fans, insisting instead that police overreacted and should not have canceled the show.

Lisa Worden, music director at Burbank alt-rock station KROQ-FM (106.7), which plugged the event, said the fact that 9,000 fans turned up surprised everybody. ``This band has a ton of fans, but nobody anticipated this many would come to the show,'' she said.

Six arrests were made on charges including assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer, looting and inciting a riot, police said.

There were no injuries and little property damage aside from System of a Down's equipment, Downing said, adding that it took 90 minutes to quell the disturbance.

Glendale's System of a Down consists of three members of Armenian heritage: the Beirut-born Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian and bassist Shavo Odadjian, plus drummer John Dolmayan. The band is scheduled to co-headline the Forum with Slipknot on Sept. 29.

- Fred Shuster

In concert, Destiny's Child displays maturity

They may seem like the reigning queens of teen pop - with their videos in heavy MTV rotation and millions of screaming, young fans - but the girls of Destiny's Child have finally grown up.

When they emerged on the music scene three years ago, bubbly songs like ``No, No, No'' and ``Bills, Bills, Bills'' won over their staple teen audience.

Since then, Destiny's Child has changed its lineup: Two original members were eliminated, then replaced, then one more was eliminated. The current lineup of Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams has survived all the drama to remain at the top of the charts. The slick production and consistent beats that caught listeners' ears three years ago haven't changed. But with new songs like ``Survivor'' and ``Happy Face,'' Destiny's Child showcases a new maturity and emotional depth the group hasn't shown in the past.

They continued to impress during Sunday night's concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine. Emerging from a sunken stage and surrounded by flames, Knowles, Rowland and Williams shed their teeny-bop image (and much of their clothing) to declare their independence. The energized opener, ``Independent Women Part I'' from the film ``Charlie's Angels,'' set the tone for the evening.

Backed by a dozen dancers and a live band, (a welcome reprieve from pop artists who rely on tracked recordings), Destiny's Child performed a set that seemed more like a Madonna spectacular than an MTV-sponsored ``TRL'' tour.

They shone in glittering outfits and with gutsy vocals on songs like ``Survivor,'' ``Bootylicious'' and ``Jumpin' Jumpin','' tunes that managed to move even the parents in the crowd (there to chaperon fans as young as 6 years old) to rise to their feet and bounce-baby-bounce-bounce-bounce along to the music.

- Heather Wood

BACK TO SCHOOL WITH MO: The advent of the new school year is an intentionally lame premise on which to hang some recycled comedy bits from Comedy Central's flagship series ``The Daily Show,'' but if the segments are as inspired as those in ``Mo Rocca's Back to School Special,'' we'll gladly suffer the silly interstitial material.

Rocca, one of ``The Daily Show's'' crack correspondents, dons a letter sweater and introduces some of his funniest reports. There are hard-hitting advocacy-journalism pieces for tower-climbing, topless, fire-breathing transsexuals (after a series of cursory interviews with people who nominally frown on at least one of the activities by which she has defined her life, he asks her, ``Traffic reporters, firefighters, rabbis - does it seem at times that the whole world is against you?'') and for small diners sued for copyright infringement by corporate giants (the Friendly's restaurant chain believes it owns the rights to the word ``friendly'').

There's a poignant profile of a middle-age Library of Congress employee who still lives with his mother and archives smut (Rocca asks the man's mother, ``Does the sea of pornography ever distract you from your crocheting?'').

Rocca's not really a Woodward or Bernstein - his brand of journalism is more appropriate for a Burnward. ``Mo Rocca's Back to School Special'' airs at 11 tonight on Comedy Central.

- David Kronke

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Members of the rock group System of a Down are John Dolmayan, left, Daron Malakian, Serj Tankian and Shavo Odadjian.

(2) Destiny's Child - Kelly Rowland, left, Beyonce Knowles and Michelle Williams - rose from the flames to deliver a hot set in Irvine Sunday night.

Diandra Jay/Staff Photographer