Mindless Self Indulgence @ The TLA.
Text by Gabi Chepurny. Images by Jesse Marass.
We weren’t exactly sure what to expect when Mindless Self Indulgence came to the TLA on Sunday, but overall we were more than happy with what we got.
DeathMaschine opened up with grinding guitars and vocals angsty enough for any teen to get down. Each member looking like their own version of a very angry Edward Scissorhands.
“We’ll be gone in a second,” DeathMaschine’s guitarist said in a sad and dreamy voice that was reminiscent of Him from the Powerpuff Girls. “Don’t worry.”
It was hard to tell if he was being ironic or reacting to the so-far listless crowd.
The Bunny The Bear, currently performing as a six-piece, brought their odd mix of screamed and falsetto-clean vocals to a crowd that almost everyone was into (except for the one kid in the back who kept yelling, “Fuck you!” throughout the entire performance). Both lead singers, Matthew Tybor and Chris Hutka, wore rabbit and bear masks, respectively. While this would be considered weird anyplace else, it fit right in with the Invader Zim backpacks, satin shirts and the group of attendees wearing dark grey suits doused in baby powder.
Headliners MSI took the stage to show everyone what a real performance looks like. They started with “It Gets Worse.” We’re only now seeing the irony the band probably meant with that song and we are still laughing a the enormous cheers lead singer Little Jimmy Urine was greeted with when he told the audience, “We have your money!”
The set was primarily comprised of songs from 2000’s Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy and 2008’s If. The band made sure to play a version of their new song, “Fuck Machine,” for an audience sad to see them go on hiatus at the end of this tour. With the entire crowd a mosh pit, Urine also made sure to keep it heavy on the banter as he called out every other band that always says they love the city they’re playing in. After expressing his deep devotion to us, he jokingly told everyone he loves playing in …Tampa, Florida. All of this was before he ran past the crowd, telling each of them, “I’m not here for you,” hijacking the bar and commanding the bartender to make him a drink before jumping back to the stage to finish their set.
While it’s more than difficult to classify the electro-metal-hip-hop-industrial band, Urine chose metal for Sunday night’s genre descriptor.
“If you believe in God,” he said, “you are not allowed to listen to metal music.”
That gave us just one more reason to feel confident in calling MSI some of the most serious shock rockers to date.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
Comments are closed.