There are few bands that carry the reputation of New Jersey’s The Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP) in terms of live performance. Tonight, the eccentric group played in Sydney for the first time since March 2005, supported by labelmates Coliseum and local experimental up-and -comers Hospital the Musical.

I won’t mislead you and claim to have paid any attention whilst our local opener kicked off proceedings. What I will say is that landing the support for both tonight and Converge indicates that these guys are on the up. Additionally, it was relayed to me that they were excellent, so mental note to self: do check them out next time.

Next up were Kentucky’s Coliseum, a relatively unknown band who clearly appreciated the exposure that opening for DEP brings with it. Playing to disappointing number of punters, the three-piece emerged to the background of an intensely heavy intro tape. The intro tape set the scene for the next 45 minutes of intense brilliance that the band served up.

Apart from the occasional (un-coordinated) rock move by bassist Mike Pascal, the band didn’t move about a whole lot. They could be criticised for lack of stage presence or energy, but what Coliseum lacked in showmanship they more than made up for with their plummeting sound. Additionally, Mike’s unorthodox method of playing bass and bizarre (but never the less entertaining) facials did provide some visual pleasure.

The make up of their set consisted of material from last year’s No Salvation for the most part, but all of their releases got an airing. The one thing that did stand out about all three members was their abilities to play their chosen instruments, particularly drummer Chris Maggio, whose very basic setup was put through its paces and had me wondering how his sound was so large.

For a three-piece, these guys had amazing sound and matching intensity to boot. They had a no-nonsense, straight-up balls to the wall approach to their music. For me, standout songs included Give up and Drive as well as Profess. I am confident by the end of their set that they had definitely increased the amount of punters actually paying attention and even picked up new fans along the way. This was confirmed when band members were kept busy for the duration of the night selling their own merchandise (which by the way I think more bands should do – it’s excellent).

So the appetiser and entrée were finished, enter The Dillinger Escape Plan for tonight’s main meal. And what a tasty meal it was. Launching on stage with Panasonic Youth and 43% Burnt (taken from the band’s arguably two finest albums – Miss Machine and Calculating Infinity respectively), I was completely blown away. Folks, this was an assault on all senses. I now start to comprehend all the reports I had heard going into this gig.

Early in the set, I turned to a friend and simply stated – “I don’t know where I should be focusing my attention”. The chaos that this band delivers makes it very hard to just watch a certain member or view the stage from an angle and take it all in. For starters, they don’t stick to the confines of the stage, with nearly every band member embracing the crazy heights of the speaker stacks to either side of the stage. It was like your normal energetic band played in fast forward. I doubt very much that – apart from the drummer – any one band member was in the same position for the more than five seconds.

Vocalist Greg Puciato’s banter was minimal, but he did refer back to their 2005 tour several times. They must have fond memories of that particular tour, as do many of the people that I know who attended. They mixed the set up really well, and the material from their latest effort Ire Works was well-received irrespective of widespread opinion that they have dropped the ball since Miss Machine (a view I don’t personally subscribe to). There were two tracks that reminded me of Mike Patton’s clear vocal influence on the band Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants and Black Bubblegum. Being a fan of this type of vocal style, I enjoyed them both thoroughly.

And as the night came to a close 82588 and Sunshine the Wolf , I tried my darndest to fault this show. The only thing I can come up with is the headline act playing under an hour. Under normal circumstances, I would normally moan that it is unforgivable. In this case, though, any longer would be a health hazard for these guys. Simply put – an amazing show from start to finish.