The Vogue Theatre - December 4, 2013
If you consider yourself a punk, metal head or skater, then why the fuck weren’t you at the Slam City Tour? Too cold outside? That didn’t stop piles of these scary-looking fuckers from cramming into the Vogue on December 4th to witness the best show of 2013 and a band that has been credited as the fathers of crossover thrash, Suicidal Tendencies.
Sacramento’s Trash Talk started the festivities and warmed up the growing crowd with their chaotic style of hardcore punk meshed with grindcore. By the time Terror took to the stage, the place was packed.
L.A. five-piece Terror is undeniably one of the top bands in hardcore today. They quickly got the crowd up front and moving with their heavy and energetic style, showing exactly why they are called Terror. Vocalist Scott Vogel is infamous for his crazy on-stage hilarious banter, which is known to the fans as “Vogelisms.” It’s brilliant stuff.
It had been many years since Suicidal Tendencies last visited Vancouver, you could practically smell the anticipation in the air as the audience waited for them to take the stage. Opening with “You Can’t Bring Me Down,” lead singer Mike Muir and company ripped through a set of classics from throughout the bands lengthy career, weighing heavily on songs from their landmark 1983 self-titled album.
The 50-year-old Muir, still one of the best punk vocalists and frontman ever, impressively ran back and forth across the stage like a madman the whole night. Muir’s between-song banter touched on how S.T. was never afraid to try new things no matter what anyone said and have always done what they wanted to do. As one of the first pioneering punk bands to cross over and add metal to their sound, their vision gained them a huge and wider audience. This night proved that S.T. still has staying power 30 years later.
-Jason Kolins
