Concert review: 'The Sucide Machines' go against all authority

By Brian Spiegel
On-line Forty-Niner

Though I know I might be tracked down and severely beaten by several mohawked, patched up Misfits or Ramones fans, I believe that The Suicide Machines' 1997 ska-laced "Destruction By Definition" is the best punk record of all time. There I said it, now take a moment to ponder your retaliation towards me.

Have you calmed down? Good. Throughout the years a Suicide Machines show has been an almost sure bet. Even with that said and the fact that the band's records continue to pretty well their shows are, for some reason, usually sparsely attended in the L.A. area. But this doesn't take away from the fact that live the band is truly in its element: loud, fast, fun and insightful. It's near-perfect live set was on display April 4th when their "Your Silence = Your Death Tour" stopped over at the Whiskey in Hollywood.

The Suicide Machines have always made it a point to fuse music with a heavy dose of liberal politics. This was the first tour, though, where they really brought their politics on stage with them, using several of the song breaks to speak out against Bush, the war and the proposed draft. The stage was littered with old black and white televisions which spewed tapes of '50's propaganda and nuclear preparedness films.

Musically, the band was ferocious. They had no problem whipping the crowd into a frenzy (it probably didn't hurt that the crowd seemed like they entered the venue in the mood to go crazy). The Suicide Machines set list weighed heavily on songs from its first two albums. This ensured that the crowd knew the lyrics to the extent that they could sing along rather seamlessly when lead singer Jason Navarro lent his mic to some of the kids in the pit.

The band hit its stride on songs from "Destruction By Definition." They began their set with the 8-year-old, yet still timely, "S.O.S." The four or five songs played from the new album, "A Match And Some Gasoline," came off beautifully with a raw power, especially with the tour's namesake "Your Silence Equals Your Death."

The band finished up their set with a sixty-second ode to the government, "DDT." then hit the stage for a blistering version of "New Girl" for the encore.

Openers Against All Authority played a likeable set of horn-influenced punk (it would be too easy just to call it ska.) The band warmed up the crowd nicely and threw out a great cover of The Dead Kennedy's "Holiday In Cambodia" for good measure.