{"id":1823,"date":"2005-11-22T20:00:38","date_gmt":"2005-11-22T20:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=1823"},"modified":"2015-10-19T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2015-10-19T20:40:57","slug":"suicide-machines-w-stretch-arm-strong-meridian-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2005\/11\/22\/suicide-machines-w-stretch-arm-strong-meridian-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Suicide Machines w\/ Stretch Arm Strong – Meridian – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Samuel Barker <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nov 22, 2005 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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\"Image\"It has been a few years since the Suicide Machines have made it to the Houston area, but for the faithful fans who showed up on this night, the wait was totally worth it. Sure, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at 10:30 not many were willing to venture into the winter air to a concert downtown, but those hundred or so kids who did venture were rewarded.<\/p>\n

The band was reminiscent of the first time I saw the band back in 1996 at Fitzgerald’s. The audience was small, but the energy was high. Classic songs like S.O.S.<\/strong>, Break The Glass<\/strong>, DDT<\/strong>, and\u00a0 Hey Ska!<\/strong> were in abundance, and the audience responded with frantic dancing, loud sing alongs and impormptu embraces with lead vocalist Jason Navarro.<\/p>\n

Being the psychotically front man he is, Navarro spent a great deal of the night swinging between pipes for the fire sprinkler system through the audience. While it sent the venue staff in fits of panic, the audience ate it up and spent plenty of time singing for Navarro with he did pull-ups. The audience was so responsive with the sing along duties that Navarro stated when the band did a reunion tour, around 2015, that he wouldn’t show up, the band would be there and the audience would be the ones to sing vocals on the songs. Honestly, it could work, but Navarro would be missed.<\/p>\n

Guitarist\/vocalist Dan Lukacinsky shocked those in attendance by an encore performance of the old favorite, The Vans Song.<\/strong> For years the band balked at audience screams for the song, but on this tour, the band was feeling the nostalgia of the night and let it go for the encore.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"Of course tracks from the band’s new album, War Profiteering Is Killing Us All<\/strong>, were in abundance. True to the band, the audience knew every word and screamed along with Navarro through thrashers like\u00a0 Capsule<\/strong>. The songs sent drummer Ryan Vandeberghe into a frenzy of beats and a fountain of sweat. The night was perfect for those who braved the cold downtown streets to have a little fun with the Suicide Machines.<\/p>\n

Opening for the band was Stretch Arm Strong, who are one of the few bands keeping the hardcore sounds rolling today. The bands was tight and precise, giving the kids in the audience good reason to run in circles and knock into each others.<\/p>\n

Of course, some of their new material sounded like they were touching a bit on the pop side of things, let’s just hope this band doesn’t follow the path of hardcore veterans H2O and blow the fun for their fans by becoming a watered down pop act that are far from scarce these days in the punk scene.<\/p>\n

But, before we get ou the torches and pitchforks, the band brought their A game on this night and did their task on the tour, getting the kids ready to go insane for the Suicide Machines. Both the audience and the band did their job perfectly.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Samuel Barker Nov 22, 2005 at 08:00 PM It has been a few years since the Suicide Machines have made it to the Houston area, but for the faithful fans who showed up on this night, the wait was totally worth it. Sure, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at 10:30 not many were… <\/p>\n

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