11 November 2023 – The Triffid, Brisbane – words by Joe Harbour – pictures by Bec Harbour
Saturday night turned out to be the night I was to leave the comfort of reclusion and venture out amongst the other inhabitants of Brisbane.
So what was on? Krave, a local Brisbane outfit, Mannequin Death Squad from Melbourne, and headlining was Suicidal Tendencies.
Krave kicked it off with some nice crunchy guitar and got the crowd warmed up with their brand of metal. I had never seen them before tonight but I’m sure there will further opportunities to catch a gig. One thing I have to say is I couldn’t really hear vocalist Siana’s bass which made the set sound a bit off, but over all they kicked butt! I dug the song ‘Shapeshifter’ a lot. Ryan the guitarist has excellent hair by the way!
Krave – Triffid – photos by Bec Harbour
Up next was Mannequin Death Squad, a noisy duo from Melbourne who bill themselves as pop thrash and I suppose after listening to them near a loud speaker that’s what they sounded like too! I really liked these guys, guitarist Elle played with what I thought to be unique tuning as they had no bass but she covered the lower notes well and drummer Dan banged away as Dan the drummer only can. Midway through though, they switched roles. Wow talk about skills! So what really impressed me is they kinda did it all, literally. They had harmonies, they played each others instruments and well I might add ,and sang songs that were pretty solid. They played through the album Super Mental Psycho and the crowd was into it! Overall a highlight for me, and new music find, I recommend you check ‘em out.
Mannequin Death Squad – Triffid – photos by Bec Harbour
Next was Suicidal Tendencies.
They started off with the anthemic ‘You Can’t Bring Me Down’ off 1990’s lights…camera… revolution! Bassist Tye Trujillo’s dad Robert played bass in Suicidal Tendencies around the time this song came out – yes that Robert.
And it was on! Young, old, long hair, no hair, yellow glow in the dark hair, battle jackets; all went off their rockers and moshed it up like it was the last chance to ever do so.
For this tour Suicidal Tendencies were playing the the first album from 1983 when they were more hardcore than crossover thrash and seriously they didn’t disappoint. Tracks like ‘Fascist Pig’, ‘Memories of Tomorrow’ ‘Two Sided Politics’ blew past and the crowd was into it. Further tracks like ‘I Saw Your Mommy’ ‘I Shot Reagan’ and ‘Won’t Fall in Love Today’ were also blasted through, and the energy in the place was non stop!
Suicidal Tendencies – Triffid – photos by Bec Harbour
As a skateboarder from the late 80’s, Suicidal Tendencies was as part of the culture for me as much as any other part of it, and for those who don’t know Jim ‘Red Dog’ Muir is singer Mike’s brother. He founded the iconic DogTown Skates in the 70’s and was pretty successful in the 80’s with a grip of pros and boards that are as classic today as the day they were released. Naturally skateboarding would be around the Muirs and so we get a song like ‘Possessed to Skate’. The video clip itself is classic with 80’s pros like Natas and other LA locals (Eric Dressen, Jesse Martinez et al) invading a house and draining the pool, whilst the parents go on vacation. It’s goofy but I love it.
Suicidal Tendencies – Triffid – photos by Bec Harbour
They played further tracks like ‘Suicidal Failure’ and ‘I Want More ‘ and we got the the song most people know ‘Institutionalised’.
Lastly we pledged our allegiance (‘Pledge Your Allegiance’) and when it was said and done there was a catharsis felt as the crowd really put on just as much of a show with some true circle pit action and surfing.
If you like punk, I’d try to catch these guys (this tour is sold out, so hopefully they will come back), classic, fun and energy from go to whoah, there wasn’t much to dislike!
