Suicidal Tendencies, Iron Mind @ Billboard The Venue, Melbourne (15/05/2011)
Walking through China Town towards Billboard The Venue for tonight’s Suicidal Tendencies gig, I realised just how old the band was, and how young I was. Getting there 10 minutes after doors opened to see a tiny line barely stretching around the corner, I realised I was the youngest person lining up by a fair few years. Even though Suicidal Tendencies have been here four or five times previous, this was the first show that I was 18 for and actually able to go to, seeing as Soundwave 07 didn’t make its way to Melbourne.
Opening the night were local Melbourne hardcore act, Iron Mind. A band I’ve seen plenty of times before play with similar hardcore bands, they were perhaps not the right choice for an older crowd, as the bands energy on stage was not reflected with any movement in the crowd. There was some appreciative applause after every song, but that was it really. While Iron Mind’s brand of Madball worship hardcore is not really my thing, they are definitely a tight band, and a band that should be experienced in a tiny venue to really get a feel of how intense their sound is. The band played what felt like a really short set, with only a few breaks to talk to the audience in between, but vocalist Sam sounded really nervous, which was a drastic change from his persona during the songs.
There was almost an hour after Iron Mind finished before Suicidal Tendencies started, so some people moved to the front of the venue for a good position, while others moved straight to the bar. The roadies set up a backdrop, and you could tell that people were getting excited. As an impatient crowd waited for the band to start, the lights dimmed and the band were introduced, before walking on to stage to thunderous applause
Opening with You Can’t Bring Me Down off their 1990 album Lights...Camera...Revolution!, the band were in great form, sounding incredibly tight. Vocalist Mike Muir ran on stage, and the crowd erupted in a frenzy as the song kicked in. Everything sounded great, the only downside was that it was just so quiet. For a legendary band such as Suicidal Tendencies to have such a quiet mix, it just didn’t seem right, sentiments echoed by a guy next to me who kept telling me how shit the mix was, after every song. Dean Plesents is an amazing guitarist and his solo in You Can’t Bring Me Down was just incredible. His work throughout the night was excellent, playing every solo without any sign of struggle.
After Mike briefly talked to the audience, they launched into arguably their most famous song, Institutionalized. Twenty eight years on from the release of their first album, and Mike still sings Institutionalized with as much intensity as he did on the original recording. Playing their most popular song second may seem like an odd choice, but the whole set list was pretty much just a greatest hits, so the crowd still sung along to every song, including the classic line “all I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me!”
Considering Mike Muir is 48 years old and has had back surgery, he performed with so much energy that I’m jealous of all the people who got to see him and the band in their prime. Fan favourites Join The Army and War Inside My Head dominated the middle of the set, with the crowd singing along every word, and Mike storming across the stage like he was half his age. It was good to see so much movement in the crowd, and this was across the majority of their set, minus the slower songs.
In between most songs, Mike Muir likes to talk. A lot. The downside was that most of the audience had no idea what the fuck Mike was saying, but everyone still cheered when they heard something about Australia. His rapid fire, indecipherable talking between songs started to annoy some of the crowd, especially some drunk guy behind me who kept yelling at Mike to shut up and get on with it.
Stephen Bruner is possibly the best bassist I’ve ever seen live, playing intricate riffs on his 6 string bass without any effort at all while drummer Eric Moore completes the rhythm section, with some incredibly tight drumming. Towards the end of the set he performed a short solo, which was a lot more tasteful and restrained than most drum solos I have seen.
Before the band played Possessed To Skate, they got the Suicidal Tendencies skate family on stage, who then proceeded to jump around during the song, before each of them stage dived and ended up back side stage. As soon as the familiar bass line at the start of this song started, the croud erupted, with people crowd surfing their way to the front in an effort to get a mic grab.
The rest of the set consisted of classics such as How Will I Laugh Tomorrow, I Saw Your Mommy, Cyco Vision and Pledge Your Allegiance as the band worked through their back catalogue. While the band played for well more than an hour, it still felt like a short set, as the band and crowd still had the energy to go for more songs. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and as we were walking out of Billboard The Venue, I heard many older fans say it was the best they had seen them in years, leaving me excited for the eventual album, and the potential next tour.
The band are heading into the studio to record their first album in 12 years, and if this performance was anything to go by, it’ll be as heavy, technical and full of energy as their songs have ever been. Most bands that have been around as long as Suicidal Tendencies have lost the energy they had when they were young, or they just don’t care anymore, but they played this show like they were young and like they really wanted to be there. Mike said that they had plans for coming back, so if and when they do, go and see them, you won’t be disappointed.
Josh Mitrou
Opening the night were local Melbourne hardcore act, Iron Mind. A band I’ve seen plenty of times before play with similar hardcore bands, they were perhaps not the right choice for an older crowd, as the bands energy on stage was not reflected with any movement in the crowd. There was some appreciative applause after every song, but that was it really. While Iron Mind’s brand of Madball worship hardcore is not really my thing, they are definitely a tight band, and a band that should be experienced in a tiny venue to really get a feel of how intense their sound is. The band played what felt like a really short set, with only a few breaks to talk to the audience in between, but vocalist Sam sounded really nervous, which was a drastic change from his persona during the songs.
There was almost an hour after Iron Mind finished before Suicidal Tendencies started, so some people moved to the front of the venue for a good position, while others moved straight to the bar. The roadies set up a backdrop, and you could tell that people were getting excited. As an impatient crowd waited for the band to start, the lights dimmed and the band were introduced, before walking on to stage to thunderous applause
Opening with You Can’t Bring Me Down off their 1990 album Lights...Camera...Revolution!, the band were in great form, sounding incredibly tight. Vocalist Mike Muir ran on stage, and the crowd erupted in a frenzy as the song kicked in. Everything sounded great, the only downside was that it was just so quiet. For a legendary band such as Suicidal Tendencies to have such a quiet mix, it just didn’t seem right, sentiments echoed by a guy next to me who kept telling me how shit the mix was, after every song. Dean Plesents is an amazing guitarist and his solo in You Can’t Bring Me Down was just incredible. His work throughout the night was excellent, playing every solo without any sign of struggle.
After Mike briefly talked to the audience, they launched into arguably their most famous song, Institutionalized. Twenty eight years on from the release of their first album, and Mike still sings Institutionalized with as much intensity as he did on the original recording. Playing their most popular song second may seem like an odd choice, but the whole set list was pretty much just a greatest hits, so the crowd still sung along to every song, including the classic line “all I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me!”
Considering Mike Muir is 48 years old and has had back surgery, he performed with so much energy that I’m jealous of all the people who got to see him and the band in their prime. Fan favourites Join The Army and War Inside My Head dominated the middle of the set, with the crowd singing along every word, and Mike storming across the stage like he was half his age. It was good to see so much movement in the crowd, and this was across the majority of their set, minus the slower songs.
In between most songs, Mike Muir likes to talk. A lot. The downside was that most of the audience had no idea what the fuck Mike was saying, but everyone still cheered when they heard something about Australia. His rapid fire, indecipherable talking between songs started to annoy some of the crowd, especially some drunk guy behind me who kept yelling at Mike to shut up and get on with it.
Stephen Bruner is possibly the best bassist I’ve ever seen live, playing intricate riffs on his 6 string bass without any effort at all while drummer Eric Moore completes the rhythm section, with some incredibly tight drumming. Towards the end of the set he performed a short solo, which was a lot more tasteful and restrained than most drum solos I have seen.
Before the band played Possessed To Skate, they got the Suicidal Tendencies skate family on stage, who then proceeded to jump around during the song, before each of them stage dived and ended up back side stage. As soon as the familiar bass line at the start of this song started, the croud erupted, with people crowd surfing their way to the front in an effort to get a mic grab.
The rest of the set consisted of classics such as How Will I Laugh Tomorrow, I Saw Your Mommy, Cyco Vision and Pledge Your Allegiance as the band worked through their back catalogue. While the band played for well more than an hour, it still felt like a short set, as the band and crowd still had the energy to go for more songs. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and as we were walking out of Billboard The Venue, I heard many older fans say it was the best they had seen them in years, leaving me excited for the eventual album, and the potential next tour.
The band are heading into the studio to record their first album in 12 years, and if this performance was anything to go by, it’ll be as heavy, technical and full of energy as their songs have ever been. Most bands that have been around as long as Suicidal Tendencies have lost the energy they had when they were young, or they just don’t care anymore, but they played this show like they were young and like they really wanted to be there. Mike said that they had plans for coming back, so if and when they do, go and see them, you won’t be disappointed.
Josh Mitrou