https://thedailytexan.com/2026/03/15/machine-girl-brings-relentless-energy-to-emos/

Machine Girl, a ​​New York-based electronic rock group, brought hardcore energy to Emo’s on Friday for their PsychoWarrior Tour. The three-person group, composed of vocalist and producer Matt Stephenson, percussionist Sean Kelly and guitarist Lucy Caputi, took the stage at 9:45 p.m. The trio brought with them a high-power performance that kept the crowd’s heads banging and bodies thrashing against each other.

The night began with New York rapper, rockstar and artist LustSickPuppy. The opener got the crowd hyped for the performances ahead and dancing to her genre-bending music. After about 45 minutes, the rapper, clad in an oversized bonnet and pastel colors, walked off the stage, and Show Me the Body, a New York post-hardcore punk band, came in to kick off the headbanging and mosh pit that didn’t let up for the rest of the night.

In between shows, the crowd spilled outside for smoke breaks and conversation. Once Machine Girl began, most of the concertgoers either remained planted in their place or were thrown around in the pool of people. The set began with “We Don’t Give a Fuck,” the first song from their latest album PsychoWarrior: MG Ultra X. Stephenson screamed the title lyric through a gas mask, distorting his vocals to sound that much more dirty and aggressive.

Percussionist Sean Kelly came into the first song with 100% of his energy and didn’t lower it unless the band slowed down. The drumming thumped nonstop and at times felt so intense that the crowd could no longer keep up with it. At the end of some of his drum solos, he would stand up as if to say, “Did y’all see that?” Despite the chaos of the performance, one thing became clear: the members of Machine Girl are professionals at this type of chaos.

Somewhere in the third quarter of the set, things calmed down, and the band played EDM-infused, video game-inspired interludes and a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “Kinky Love,” sonically similar to Pale Saints’ cover. Guitarist Lucy Cuputi supplied the feminine vocals needed for the cover, carrying the sweeter and calmer moments in the show. The guitarist also did much of the talking to the crowd, addressing the city and the vibe of the room.

Throughout the 18-song setlist, the group of three remained in conversation with each other. Stephenson sometimes turned his back to the crowd to see if his band members were on the same page, and they always were. At other times, the vocalist was not even on the stage and performed from inside the frenzied mosh pit, which left fans enamored and the Emo’s security slightly worried.

The last song, “i-Void Destroyer,” closed the performance with the same intensity it started with. The band’s glitchy, grungy and aggressive sound feels somehow apocalyptic and cathartic at the same time. For one night on East Riverside, the apocalypse sounded pretty good.