Dillinger Escape Plan

Holy shit, that guy on the door irked me. Greg specifically told me to come in a few hours early to hang out, have drinks and goof around. The dimwit on the door says, "Sorry mate, no one can come in."
"I'm here to see Greg"
"Greg who?"
"Greg from Dillinger"
"Which Greg?"
"Ahhh.... Greg from the band, Greg Puciato"
I could hear sound check loud and clear. Brutal and tight. And this jerk didn't give a damn that I should be in there. He walked over to the ticket box and faffed around, then came back;
"Does heknow?" "Yeah bud, he told me to come down early to hang out."
"When?"
"When? Now. He told me when I interviewed him the other day to come down around sound check to hang out."
"So you wanna interview him do you?"
"What? No. I already have. I interviewed Greg last week and he said to come down now!"
"So you're on the door? The door list won’t go out until the doors open."
"Do you understand what I'm saying? Can you just tell him I am here?"
"No one can go in until doors open man. Sorry. Come back in an hour."

Anya and I walked away in disbelief. This dolt of a man really had me in a quiet rage. We had some cocktails at Lily Black's then walked back to The Palace, formerly known as The Metro, an hour later.

A line had formed and I couldn't really be bothered anymore in talking to incompetent security so Anya and I did the patient waiting in line thing. There were opening acts (Five-Star Prison Cell and Coliseum) that I can't recall much of, because I didn't really pay attention; they weren't much to speak of. Hours went by as Anya and I watched other people, from business men types to buxom goth-esque women and girls.Smokers on the balcony, friendly chit chat, security taking drinks away from people venturing toward fresh/smoky air. A snake of drinks forming. The second the last of the openers finished, hundreds orderly got into position. Cheers here and there when members of Dillinger Escape Plan were spotted on the side of the stage. Lights dimmed and drones began, feedback and electronic layers. Minutes went by, smoke onstage. These few minutes of noise were THE musical highlight of the evening for me. And if only it went for longer. Each member of DEP casually walked through the smoke, got into position, then BAM! It began.

A brute force of a band. Ben Weinman was in an epileptic rage from the get go. Not missing a note or chord as he launched himself off speaker cabs or into the crowd. I couldn't stop thinking that Greg's legs were going to burst out of his pants as he struggled at times to hit some lyrics. He's all muscle and it was quite funny watching the smaller folk at the front of the pit trying to hold his solid frame above them. And also a bit worrying watching him attempt to climb up the PA system as the whole think shook. You really wouldn't think Greg was the same guy if you spoke to him after seeing him onstage. The intensity of DEP live is something to be rivalled and really makes so many other bands look so, well, so 'try hard' I guess. The sound was quite bad which is frustrating for a band like DEP, because most of their music is all about the tight little changes and split second syncopations. I'm glad they didn't play Festival Hall, otherwise I'd have been out of there. For the whole 50 odd minutes, which yes, seemed short, the theatrics of the band were enough to keep a content smile on all around.

A nice little touch was Bear McKinnon (Umlaut, Mr Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3) playing sax on Milk Lizard, although it is an average song and I expected a little more soloing or little bit of improv. Again, the sound was terrible. I must note, that there was a sort of, sense of a sexual vibe going on that a few others noted too, with the whole writhing half clothed, sweat and muscle, and putting so much force into instruments played, the handlebar moustache and guitarist Jeff Tuttle constantly moving like he's either shitting or having sex. In the closer, Sunshine the Werewolf, he ran through the crowd as Greg was battling the audience up front and climbed onto the back bar playing the last few riffs. Sunshine' was close to the stand out moment for me, but there was something about Jeff standing up on the bar that really annoyed me.

There was a feeling of the greatness of the music dropping a tad. The fact that he was so far away from the stage, and his wireless system sending the guitar signal back to the amp made me feel as if he was not 'connected' to the music. It lost the rawness and the energy seeing no lead plugged in to his guitar, and slightly hearing the twang of the strings up close and the at the same time the distorted signal from the PA I felt a feeling of disconnection. As great as DEP were, I had the urge to see them in a much smaller venue, where there would’ve been more of an intimate intensity.

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