Gig Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan LIVE @ The Prince Bandroom, Melbourne, 28/8/16

Last night I beared witness to one of the craziest, most electrifying live shows of the year! The Dillinger Escape plan came back to Australia for a tour that would render us as lifeless corpses at the end of it all. I was lucky enough to catch their Melbourne show, but given their history of insane mosh pits, I opted to stand just outside the pit, on an elevated benchtop, giving myself the best view of the show! As this is a review, I will be judging the night on 5 points; Support Acts, Setlist, Interactiveness, Crowd Participation and Execution. Before I get into the review, here's a background story of The Dillinger Escape Plan.

The Dillinger Escape Plan

The Dillinger Escape Plan (abbreviated as TDEP), is 5-piece mathcore band whose current lineup constists of drummer Billy Rymer, guitarist and founding member Ben Weinman, guitarist Kevin Antreassian, bassist Liam Wilson and vocalist Greg Puciato (also a member of supergroup Killer Be Killed). Their genre, known as "mathcore", is a genre of music derived from metalcore, which uses complex rhythms and unusual time signatures to define their sound and to produce music that is somewhat polyrhythmic in nature. Dillinger's sound hasn't strayed far from it's original sound, but has matured and evolved on the foundations that the band was formed on.

The Support Act

Their was only one support act for the night; Melbourne's own Jack the Stripper. Being the first time I heard this band's music and given the fact that they're opening for a Dillinger show, I was prepared for something completely strange indeed. But what I was treated to was a barrage of blast beats, death growls and rhythmic brilliance that gave off a subtle Deftones-esque sound. I must say, this band fit the bill perfectly! Although I had never heard of them before, they sure did impress me. If there was any band from Melbourne to support the Dillinger Escape Plan, I'm glad it was Jack the Stripper.

Support Act Score: 9/10

Setlist

As Dillinger began to take the stage, their hour and a half set comprised a wide assortment of well-known tracks from thier entire back catalogue. If there was one way to get the crowd going nuts, it was to open with Prancer and Milk Lizard. As the night carried on, fans were treated to more Dillinger hits like Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants, One Of Us Is the Killer, 43% Burnt and studio rarity Happiness is a Smile. The band even took to covering the opening riff to Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love as a transition into Sunshine the Werewolf. Finally closing with Farewell, Mona Lisa, The Dillinger Escape Plan delivered a massive setlist of brilliant tracks that absolutely ruined the crowd. And we all loved every minute of it!

Setlist Score: 10/10

Interactiveness

To anyone who's seen the Dillinger Escape Plan before, they know they're one bunch of spastics! And I mean that in the best way possible. Frontman Greg Puciato didn't stop moving during the entire set, opting to repeatedly jump into the crowd, grab fans from the crowd and pull them on stage, and even unleashing his inner-Spiderman by climbing onto the ceiling and dropping into the sea of hardcore fans. It wasn't just Puciato that put his all into the performance, all the members of Dillinger flailed about on their instruments, releasing all the anger and passion their music produces. Guitarist Ben Weinman even decided to carry on with his riffing whilst he stood ON TOP of the crowd! I've never seen a band as fucking mental as The Dillinger Escape Plan, and I don't think I ever will!

Interactiveness Score: 10/10

Crowd Participation

The night had a certain lack of a staple in most metal/hardcore gigs...a freaking barrier! There was no leeway between the band and the sea of mosh-hungry fans, which led to wave after wave of crowd surfers landing on the stage, only to leap back into the pit! Never before have I seen a mosh pit as fucking crazy as I had seen last night, and I don't think I ever will! Towards the end of the set, Puciato invited as many fans as he could onto the stage to form a moshpit on the stage itself, displaying one of the best spectacles I've ever seen in my 12 years of concert-going! My only criticism with the crowd was the small percentage of moshers, with the pit being open and spacious, I expected more nutjobs to be honest, as there were A LOT of people just standing there, barely moving their bodies to the music.

Crowd Participation Score: 8/10

Execution

It's a rare thing in the music industry, to see a band perform their music live as good as it's heard on record, but it's an entire new level to see them peform their music better than the studio albums, and The Dillinger Escape Plan did just that! I'm going to keep this short and sweet, it took me a while to get into The Dillinger Escape Plan by just listening to their music on CD, so I let this gig be the judge. Safe to say, I freaking love this band now! 

Execution Score: 10/10

Final Thought

Wow...just wow. What a night, what a show! I don't think there's anything else to say except that I think I just witnessed probably one of the best live shows of my life. I came into the venue knowing very little about The Dillinger Escape Plan, leaving with my mind blown and my muscles aching! Would I see Dillinger again? OH FUCK YES!

FINAL SCORE

Support Act: 9/10

Setlist: 10/10

Interactiveness: 10/10

Crowd: 8/10

Execution: 10/10

TOTAL: 94% - HIGH DISTINCTION

A strong contender for Gig of the Year!

(Photos courtesy of Stephen Buckle)

(Video courtesy of SuperjojobaA)