Smalls Bar - 25th Anniversary Weekend
Jason Navarro of The Suicide Machines - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Sometimes I feel lucky to live in (or around) Detroit. This was one of those times, when legendary punk venue Small’s Bar (300 person capacity) celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. They announced that they would be hosting a weekend of punk rock, and let the anticipation build as we got closer to the announcement date. The initial announcement was that it would be Suicide Machines on Friday and Negative Approach on Saturday (with support bands to be announced at a later time), and I immediately snapped up tickets for both shows. They are both local bands, but this venue is far smaller than their usual draw, and selling out would be imminent.
A couple of days later, to everyone’s surprise, they announced that the headliners would support each other – Suicide Machines/Negative Approach on Friday and Negative Approach/Suicide Machines on Saturday. It does not get much better than this, and to boot, The Suicide Machines tipped us that there would be different sets on both nights.
Amado Guadarrama of Macho - all photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
On Friday night, the first band to play was Macho, a relatively new band (they have been around for about 5 years) that includes Amado Guadarrama, previously of Detroit’s Bump-N-Uglies, The Bill Bondsman, The Devious Ones, and currently in Norcos Y Horchata. Over the past few years, punk bands with female vocals have been moving way up my list of favorite bands and the two female singers in Macho (also the drummer and guitarist) work perfectly. Check out their Bandcamp page, and pick up their EP, EP II, or EP III along with “Abandon! Abandon!”. You won’t regret it.
I credit Negative Approach as being the band that introduced me to hardcore. In the early 1980s, I was walking through the local mall wearing a punk shirt that I had bought at Harmony House when an older kid walked up to me, handed me a cassette tape, and walked away. I’d like to think it was John Brannon himself, but I can’t say for sure. It had no writing on it, just a sticker showing Linda Blair from The Exorcist. I must have played it 100 times, not even knowing the name of the band. It wasn’t until months later, when I tried to order The Misfits “Halloween” 7” from Touch & Go for $3, that Tesco Vee filled my order with an alternate 7” (the Misfits 7” was sold out)—the Negative Approach EP! Then it all came together, and Negative Approach was my favorite band. And I was a hardcore fan.
I never got to see them live in the 1980s, but I've seen them several times since their reunion in 2006. They are legends and always play to a packed crowd in Detroit, with an active pit. Negative Approach is one of the greatest hardcore bands of all time, and I was looking forward to seeing them twice on back to back nights. The first night certainly set the stage for possibly the best weekend of the year.
The Suicide Machines are local favorites. They started as Jack Kevorkian and The Suicide Machines in the early 1990s, named after the infamous Detroit local “Dr. Death.”. I had generally thought of them as a ska/punk band, but after their 2000 releases that included “A Match And Some Gasoline," “War Profiteering Is Killing Us All,” and “Revolution Spring,” I also consider them a hardcore band (also noting that the singer, Jason Navarro, screams for local hardcore band Hellmouth). The standout on the first night was “The Real You,” and apparently it was their drummer’s birthday, as at one point they stopped the show and brought out a birthday cake for him. They played an extensive 30+ song set, that also included one of their trademark covers (this time it was “Fix Me” by Black Flag). Unfortunately, they did not play the one song I was hoping for (“Detroit Is The New Miami”), but there was still one night to go.
I had a slightly different crew of friends going the second night, but every seat in the car was filled again. As with the first night, the second night was also sold out. Saturday night is prime time for the weekend, and given the energy the night before we had high expectations for this second night.
Unabomb opened up this time, a new local band that has only been around for a few years. I had checked out “Cabin Fever," their 2023 release, prior to the show so I was prepared for their raging hardcore sound, and I wasn’t disappointed. Negative Approach also killed it again, with John Brannon scowling and as angry looking as ever.
The Suicide Machines played another extensive set, which was mostly different (but a few songs did get played both nights, including “War Profiteering Is Killing Us All” and their Black Flag cover “Fix Me”). This time the highlights were “Bully In Blue” and “Break The Glass”. Again, they didn’t play “Detroit Is The New Miami," but they did extend an invite to an afterparty over at The Outer Limits Lounge (just down the road), where local favorites Norcos Y Horchata were going to play a late night set.
The weekend wasn’t over yet, so we headed over to The Outer Limits Lounge. As promised, The Suicide Machines were there as well (in the audience), and I got to ask Jason why “Detroit Is The New Miami” was left out of the sets both nights. Apparently, it was due to the tricky back-up vocals and it wasn’t one that they prepared for the show, but hopefully he heard my plea and we will get to hear it at another show later this year. They have another show coming up on September 7, 2024 at St. Andrew’s Hall – a much bigger venue, but also likely to sell out. Norcos Y Hochata played a full set, late into the night, that included fan favorites “I Gave Up Drinking for Good (Now I’m Drinking For Evil)” and “Live, Laugh, Toaster Bath”. What a great weekend!
Norcos Y Horchata at The Outer Limits Lounge - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
