The Dillinger Escape Plan Live
Concert Review of The DEP & Between the Buried and Me, in Yeovil
Mar 30, 2008
The Dillinger Escape Plan, live in Yeovil with support from Between the Buried and Me and Stolen Babies promised to be a massive gig, drawing fans and punters from acros the region. The mighty DEP, signed to relapse records, graced the Orange Box in Yeovil on February 26th.
Things are looking up for little old Yeovil, the football team is doing (relatively) well and some big name bands have stopped off there for a show in the past few years including the Misfits and Bring Me The Horizon. The Dillinger Escape Plan epitomize the scene that has developed in the fair town of Yeovil and many similar towns across the world; forward-thinking and fashion conscious.
This is of course in the way that popularity today is defined by ridiculous anti-fashion and musically DEP carry this to a town enjoying the contemporary en vogue musical climate. People can argue until they are blue in the face about how DEP have been diluted by their expanding Patton worship, but the American ensemble are still album of the month and selling out shows.
First band up are Stolen Babies, providing a Mindless Self Indulgence styled performance, and sounding like Dresden Dolls meets Mr. Bungle - which combined with costume dress and lots of make up made for an entertaining set indeed. The band themselves also clearly enjoying the night.
Between the Bar and Me
Between the Buried and Me provide a too-short set of their brilliant metal melee with minimal stage banter. The set tonight is almost exclusively from latest opus Colors, which was intended to flow as one long song (but delivered as 11 separate tracks). This may be the reason for the lack of introductions and announcements; a need to keep the continuity of the material performed tonight.
Nonetheless, the crowd stand aghast as BTBAM rip through their heavy barrage of modern death metal tinged with hardcore, spliced with progressive melody and keyboard driven explorations. Both the succulent and the seditious are on display as the tunes often deviate into divergent realms - such as the infamous hoe down at the end of "Ants of the Sky" and the childish nightmare-scape during "Sun of Nothing".
As frontman Tom's eyes dart about, and the transpiration begins to engage, he is always moving between the keyboard and the front of the crowd, working very hard to push the performance to its limits. A truly exhilarating rendition of the classic "Mordecai" is the icing on the shiny metallic cake and the epilogue of a stunning set.
Pizza Time
The Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato himself announced that he didn't know "where the ****" they are but that they "were super-stoked to be here and will be playing here again" - got to admire the honesty! So how does one sum up one of the best live performances in a long time? Certainly not with rhetoric for a start!
DEP opened with "Panasonic Youth" and "43% Burnt" which together made for a chaotic and ceaselessly energetic start, instantly igniting the eager crowd. A low ceiling and high monitor allowed for a volcano of sprawling bodies erupting in an apex of pure fury at the front. All band members (bar new drummer Gil Sharone) reveled in the interchange of pure energy at the barrier. In the haze and confusion of the aftermath, you could spot numerous sweat marks on the ceiling!
Staples such as "Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants" and "When Good Dogs do Bad Things" were aired to much celebration, as well as many cuts from new album Ire Works - which nonetheless were sang along to, every word, by the die-hards. An unforgettable show from a truly hardworking outfit, tonight only making everyone hungry for more. Except the band of course who had a brief pizza break during the set.
All in all a spellbinding night and a fine demonstration of the art of live performance at its most exhilerating and captivating. The Dillinger Escape Plan, when on fire are almost unstoppable in the live arena.
