Maybe in Another Life...

Despite their obvious awesomeness, LA hardcore punks the Bronx never really seem to fill an East Coast room when the tour by themselves. Playing the modest North Star Bar Saturday night, the space towards the back of the room was sparsely filled with on lookers who did not so much nod their heads in time with the music. As you moved closer to the stage, the crowd got a little more rowdy and the first few rows were a menagerie of sweaty, tattooed guys and tough as nails chicks rejecting contact with the gentlemen's beer guts. As always, Matt Caughthran and his boys gave it their all; as a front man with no guitar to weigh him down, Caughthran is free to interact with the crowd as much as he pleases. And he pleases, working his petute off to give the audience a real rock and roll show.

Though the Bronx didn't take the stage until after midnight, their alter egos, Mariachi el Bronx provided the second support act of the night. Sporting authentic (and super sharp) mariachi getups, deep bellied guitars and a trumpet, el Bronx played 30 minutes of sun soaked, south of the border melodies.

About 90 minutes later, they were back in street clothes and up on stage bringing the rock. The Bronx tore through choices from all three of their punk full lengths. They focused on their strongest material--"Heart Attack American," "White Tar," "I Got Chills," "History's Stranglers," "Knifeman," "Six Days a Week." A slightly extended version of "Shitty Future" involved a switch of drummers midway through and they proclaimed Philly to the be the toughest city on the east coast. Older songs were played faster than the original versions, while the more contemporary selections sounded pretty much exactly like they do on record. They ignored the more mid-tempo material and concentrated on bringing the punk and bringing it hard. Despite North Star's "No Slam Dance" policy, I only saw one person ejected despite stage diving and pits of various sizes, all of which was encouraged and enjoyed by the band.

Why these guys can't attract a more devout following is beyond me. Formed in 2002, the band prompted a bidding war between a whole shitload of labels, both of the indie ilk and several majors, before they had anything other than a demo and a couple of shows under their belts. Following the release of their first album (all of the Bronx's albums are self titled), there were several tours as openers for High on Fire and Dillinger Escape Plan, amongst others. Their second album was released on Island/Def Jam and they did high profile support for Mastodon on the Blood Mountain tour. Everything seemed to be in place for them to take over the rock scene, however, they just do not seem to be able to translate this into a dedicated fan base and they seem destined to play most filled, smaller places rather than mostly filled, larger clubs. In fact, I think that more people might have been there to see the mariachi outfit earlier in the evening.

The mariachi endeavor may have been a mixed blessing for the Bronx. It has gained them some fans from corners of the rock world that might otherwise overlook them, but at the same time, it has almost set them up to be a novelty act. "Hey look! It's this punk band that also does mariachi music!" While nothing could be further from the truth, it makes them appear to be a gimmick, a joke. All of the press for this tour has concentrated on Mariachi el Bronx and while there is no such thing as bad publicity, they are dangerously close to overshadowing the fact that they are probably one of the best punk bands formed this side of the new millennium.