Suicidal Tendencies have gone through as many lineup and stylistic changes as anything this side of the James Bond series, but 25 years after Mike Muir first asked for a Pepsi, one thing has stayed the same–Suicidal Tendencies put on a killer show.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4dwWkkL5EY[/youtube]
The sold out Irving Plaza crowd was an eclectic bunch. An dead-even divide of punk and metal t-shirts packed the venue's ground floor, and wide-eyed minors were almost as numerous as the 30 and 40somethings who looked like they'd arrived straight from their cubicles. The night's first and last low-key moment came around 10:30 with the first strains of "You Can't Bring Me Down" creeping over the PA but a mosh pit encompassed almost the entire floor the instant the band kicked in.
The ever bandana'd Muir seemed invigorated to be back onstage, running back and forth all night and speed-talking through some lengthy banter. He engaged the band's comedic side on "I Saw Your Mommy," mugged through psychotic episodes like "Trip at the Brain" and "Subliminal" and reminded us all that skater punk didn't start out badly on "Possessed to Skate." It's also safe to say that Muir's politics haven't softened–"I Shot Reagan" showed no mercy for the Iran-Contra President now that he's actually dead, and "Send Me Your Money" resonated in Ted Haggard's America as much as it did in Jimmy Swaggart's.
The versatile current lineup, including mainstay guitarist Mike Clark, nailed every aspect of the Tendencies, from the early punk records to their thrash developments to the bass-inflicted funky side that Robert Trujillo introduced. A short but enjoyable solo from gigantic drummer Eric Moore preceded a classic-sounding new song, "Come Alive," which instantly raised interest level in ST's upcoming new album. But standards ruled the evening, and the crowd's chants to "Fascist Pig" and "War Inside My Head" shook the rafters almost as much as the band's squealing guitar licks and prodigious low end.
Having been imitated profusely for the past 20 years, it's sometimes hard to hear how groundbreaking Suicidal Tendencies were in the '80s. Their funk influences were seeping in before the Red Hot Chili Peppers were a household name, and unless you were Motörhead, punk-metal wasn't getting you anywhere in 1983. But despite no longer sounding like they stepped in from a different universe, Suicidal Tendencies have a distinct metal blend that everyone should be subjected to. Muir closed the show by inviting the audience to join him onstage for the "S.T." chants in "Pledge Your Allegiance," in a move that was more punk rock than anything that the bands who took ST's sound to TRL could ever imagine.
At the end of the night, some of ST's best-known songs were MIA. No "Join the Army" or "I Wasn't Meant to Feel This," and shockingly, no "Institutionalized." But the band proved that they don't have to rely on a greatest hits set to put on a great show. As great as it would've been to hear "Institutionalized," it's to ST's credit that they don't have to play it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVwto8Xk2o4[/youtube]
Setlist:
1. "You Can't Bring Me Down"
2. "We are Family"
3. "War Inside My Head"
4. "Subliminal"
5. "Send Me Your Money"
6. (drum solo)
7. "Come Alive" (new song)
8. "Cyco Vision"
9. "Trip at the Brain"
10. "Lovely"
11. "Possessed to Skate"
12. "I Saw Your Mommy"
13. "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow?"
Encore:
14. "I Shot Reagan"
15. "Fascist Pig"
16. "Pledge Your Allegiance"
