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The Suicide Machines @ The Troubadour, Hollywood 5/11/2006

Los Kung-Fu Monkeys
Toys That Kill
Buck-O-Nine
The Suicide Machines
Photos and review by: Audiophile

The traffic into Hollywood this fine Thursday night wasn't bad at all, not as bad as it usually is anyway. Despite the lack of bad traffic and showing up an hour and a half before the first band took the stage, there was already two lines forming. One for those who already had their tickets, and one for those waiting for the window to open so they could check the status of the show and possibly buy tickets for themselves. Luckily for them, it wasn't completely sold out yet, but I'm pretty sure it was by the end. I highly doubt one more body could have fit into the club without breaking some sort of fire code...

Speaking of fire, the first band up was Los Kung-Fu Monkeys, and this ska/punk outfit from Tijuana could NOT have been any more blazing. The most notable thing about Los Kung-Fu Monkeys was their duel vocalists. After hearing their first song, "Justify", I was inclined to think that the teaming up of Bernie and Paco was one of the greatest since Batman and Robin, though I'm pretty sure Bernie and Paco don't touch each other...like...that. Keyboardist Juan was impressive, if only for the brand of keyboards he was using on stage. I'm a HUGE fan of Roland's Juno line, and Juan happened to be sporting TWO Juno-D's. That's some sexy gear. Be sure to look up Los Kung-Fu Monkeys at your local computer at www.loskfm.net, if you like good music that is.

Alright, I hate to admit this, but I found myself wondering at this show "Who the hell are Toys That Kill?" I was at the bar when they took the stage, chatting a little with the singer from The Suicide Machines (who dutifully sat at their merch booth most of the night, signing anything given to him to sign) when he stopped and declared that THIS band was one of his favorites, and he had to go see them play. So I did a little research on the band. Their nothing-less-than breathtaking set was filled with catchy, poppy punk songs (please note that having a "poppy" punk song isn't the same as being pop punk) with sharp, engaging lyrics. Ever hear of F.Y.P.? Broke up in...Summer of 2000, released one last album titled - can you guess it? TOYS THAT KILL. Former members of F.Y.P. formed Toys That Kill that same summer and are nothing like their former band (or so I've heard). If you like bands like The US Bombs, The Stitches, or Screeching Weasel, you'll LOVE Toys That Kill, especially live. Look to www.toysthatkill.com for show dates and other such related info.

You all HAVE to remember Buck-O-Nine, right? They had a radio hit back in '95 with "Water In My Head". It's a good song people, and by a great ska band to boot. I wasn't the only one at the show with that opinion either, the whole crowd was loving these guys. When they played "Sound System" and did one BITCHIN cover of "Pass The Dutchie" (which is a cover itself, based on some reggae song about drugs I believe) everyone went nuts and sang along. Sometime after the cover song, the trumpet player of the band borrowed my camera to take a shot of me from the stage. That has honestly never happened to me before. But you know what the BEST part of Buck-O-Nine is? They're all vocalists. Every last one of them, (with exception to the drummer, whom I don't believe I saw singing this night) chimed in on some songs, whether it was leads or backup. It made for some great live harmonies, which are rather hard to do. Oh, and for all you Buck-O-Nine fans out there, a little birdie told me these guys are in the studio working on a new album, so be sure to check www.buck-o-nine.com for some info on that upcoming release.

Tonight was a very, very sad night for fans of The Suicide Machines. I'm sorry to report that after the show this ska/punk band, that has been around since 1991, broke up (for more info visit www.punknews.org). This was their final show. Originally, they planned on going on a 14 date tour with Los Kung-Fu Monkeys, but apparently the band couldn't keep it together long enough. I must admit I've had the pleasure of reviewing The Suicide Machines before, back in December of '05. Let me sum up that review for you: THEY ROCKED! They rocked this venue too, tonight it didn't really seem as if it this was going to be a performance to break the band up, no sir, it seemed as if they were as energetic, passionate, and lively as when they first started. Singer Jason Navarro was a part of the audience tonight, he didn't just jump on top of the crowd once or twice, he didn't just lean into the crowd on a song or two where someone MIGHT know the lyrics, oh no. That's not his style. It was a constant interaction, every member of that crowd with in, I'd like to say, four feet of the stage had a mic in their face at one point or another, or were face to face with Jason himself. Hell, I got hit in the head TWICE by none other than Jason's ass while trying to take pictures. They also played one of my FAVORITE songs off of one of my FAVORITE albums of theirs, "Break the Glass" off of DESTRUCTION BY DEFINITION (older album off of Hollywood Records). The pit got SO intense toward the end I had to back up to the bar, and I'm very sorry I did that now. I'll never get a chance to be up on stage with them again, unless they do a reunion tour down the line. At the end of the show, when The Suicide Machines came back on for an encore, they pulled what seemed to be 50 people up on stage with them. I personally laughed when I saw the ONE security guard push a few kids off the stage, look around, and realize it was hopeless. Do yourself a favor and fall in love with, then mourn the passing of, The Suicide Machines at www.suicidemachines.com. It's almost enough to turn a punker emo (except that then you'd have to kick your own ass...and no one wants that).