Check out pics from The Bronx’s music therapy session here

I know for a fact that I’m not the only who has been hooked on Mariachi El Bronx and like many others it was a pleasure to discover this form of The Bronx would be opening their Champions tour. Dressed in black, silver and red charro outfits (minus the wide-brimmed hats) the six-piece began with Cell Mates. Matt Caughtran made small talk with the crowd while the punters lapped up the Mexican flavour of the set. Litigation was next and while the vihuela meandered in and out of the set it was the brass injections from Brad Magers that made smiling almost impossible from most punters.

Despretador came and went along with stories of the start of their Australian tour. Holy and My Brother The Gun made appearances, though the guitarron was hard to distinguish. Drummer Jorma Vik, complete with sunglasses, won the award for being the coolest character of the evening. Coming from Los Angeles, the band is surrounded by Mexican culture and this part of their history is one alter ego which was well received tonight. The set finished with Clown Powder. These songs of love, loneliness and longing are polar opposites to how the night would end.

A scarily masked man (think a full face mask that resembles the creepy clown from the Saw horror series) hurled abuse at the crowd for bad behavior during the evening. Dr El Suavo’s presence was charismatic as was the way he interacted with the crowd. That mask will be the cause of nightmares for at least a little while longer.

Stuck with the hard job of being the meat in a Bronx sandwich was Brisbane locals Numbers Radio. They did manage to pull it off, even if somewhat timidly. The mix remained acceptable for the three piece as they powered through radio favourites Boring, Come On and Automatic. Despite Robbie Carlyon – œs bass rumbling through the floor and vocalist and guitarist Daniel Orr is dire need of a haircut, this band has modern rock pinned at the throat. Their catchy choruses that will hook you and are so infectious that you can’t help but singalong, even using all the will power available not too.

The Hi-Fi filled up to almost capacity and it was time again for The Bronx to explode back into their original form. Caughtran increased his vocal range for Mariachi El Bronx but it was back to his gritty and raw vocal styling which was about as audible as a suffocating scream tonight. With every Bronx show, the energy on stage couldn’t match that of the pit. Crowd surfing was at an all time high as punters were being forcefully pushed off the stage, all the while the five pieced punched out number after number of hardcore punk goodness.

Past Lives, Shitty Future and I Got Chills saw pushing and shoving reach extreme levels while onstage was where all the action was. Brad Magers was back on the bass for this set and appeared to be having the time of his life, which is apparently why I’ve written nothing but “Magers I love you” in my notebook. From here this is where the notes get illegible. History’s Stranglers saw the mic disappear into punters hands. As a whole, the five piece have this set down to a fine art – and so they should, being one of the hardest touring bands around. Kill My Friends appeared in the encore and then a bunch of placid people spilled onto the streets of West End. If you had any residual anger walking out of that show it would be in your best interest to go and see a doctor. If The Bronx live can’t get the anger and frustration out of you, you’ve got issues man.