Dillinger Escape Plan @ LiveOn Light Square, Adelaide(15/05/08)

Sat 17th May, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Dillinger Escape Plan is not the same band as when it marked new ground in metal music on early releases Under The Running Board and Calculating Infinity. The group’s membership has changed substantially and its songs have incorporated melody and choruses. But anyone worried about the group’s drift towards pop music conventions and the influence of Faith No More would likely have been relieved by Thursday night’s raging performance at Live On Light Square in Adelaide.

The support bands provided a hint the show wouldn’t be a Mike Patton appreciation night. The set of Robotosaurus was over before you could say the name of the group’s debut EP: Sayra Bahk Volume One – The Last Refuge Of The Exiled Man. Drawing together people from a hatful of Adelaide hardcore and metal acts, Robotosaurus has a heavier sound than a predecessor such as Love Like … Electrocution. The dual guitarists, drummer and bass player swung from dirty lumbering riffs to frenetic grind parts driven by blast-beats, while vocalist Izzy screamed obscure lyrics with support from a small band of fans shouting gang vocals. The sound of Webster’s bass guitar was a little too high in the mix where I was standing, but the 20 minutes the group played left little time to tinker with the sound.

Fortunately, Coliseum had longer on stage. This was a blessing because the three-piece from Louisville, Kentucky played a powerful set of heavy, driving hardcore with flourishes such as a solo from hyper-kinetic drummer Chris Maggio. Withdrawing from part of a North American tour to come to Australia, Coliseum’s vocalist and guitarist Ryan Patterson told the audience that the opportunity to play here was – œsurreal’. Front-and-centre in the sound mix, Patterson’s blazing guitar was underpinned by Mike Pascal’s bass and Maggio’s tight drumming. Like fellow Louisville heavyweights Lords, Coliseum is influenced by 1980s American hardcore ala Black Flag and Poison Idea. But the group also gives a nod to post-punk bands such as Quicksand in Profetas from 2007 album, No Salvation, released by Relapse Records.

Colisuem’s label-mates Dillinger Escape Plan must be a prized subject for a rock journalist. Reviewers of the group’s latest long player Ire Works have focused on internal ructions (original drummer Chris Pennie left to keep time for prog-rock group Coheed And Cambria), and acts of violence (witness on YouTube vocalist Greg Puciato trampling an audience at a performance at a Virgin Megastore):

These stories, though, detract from the group’s incredible music. Opening the set on Thursday night with electronic gothic sounds, Puciato emerged screaming, before founding guitarist Benjamin Weinman and Jeff Tuttle stepped on to boxes at the front of the stage for complex guitar parts. By the second number, Puciato was pulling himself on to a lighting pole fixed to the ceiling. Moments later Weinman leapt on to the rail of the crowd barrier while playing the first, explosive song from Ire Works, Fix Your Face, and then return to the stage for more intricate playing on Lurch. It wasn’t until the fifth number of the set, Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants, from Miss Machine before a traditional rock-song structure emerged.

Playing in the old Night Train Theatre Restaurant gave the group greater scope to create a sense of theatre than on past visits to Adelaide. The smoke machine, lighting rigs and pit between audience and band were all used to good effect. Watching Weinman and Puciato criss-cross the stage among the smoke and light was like witnessing an electrical storm. The instrumental interludes that pad the band’s recent records were also used to greater effect in the live forum, serving as buffers between the catchy groove of Milk Lizard from Ire Works and off-time madness of earlier When Good Dogs Do Bad Things, from Irony Is A Dead Scene. The poppy nature of a handful of Dillinger Escape Plan’s new songs really get my goat, but many in the audience pointed their fingers and sung along in appreciation at any sign of a familiar riff or melody, whether it was Milk Lizard or the falsetto vocals of Black Bubblegum.

New drummer Gil Sharone was sometimes hidden from view, but when given the spotlight for a solo his jazz and funk-influenced playing was staggering to watch. Importantly, he handled the blast parts equally as well.

The group’s closing songs, including Sugar Coated Sour from Calculating Infinity, were a return to more familiar ground for the math-metal trailblazers. While the group might appear unhinged at first blush, Thursday night’s show again demonstrated the Dillinger Escape Plan’s mastery of its craft.