Lineup: The Dillinger Escape Plan/O'Brother/Car Bomb/Cult Leader/Bentknee
Venue: Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
Date: November 16th, 2016
Last night was a bittersweet evening for me. One of my all-time favorite bands, The Dillinger Escape Plan, played their final show in Boston and it conjured up a set of emotions that are usually reserved for major life milestones like getting a new job or graduating from high school. Those conflicting emotions were briefly set aside once they hit the stage as the mathcore pioneers delivered yet another mesmerizing, exhilarating and immensely satisfying performance for the sold-out crowd at the Paradise Rock Club.
Per usual, Dillinger loaded their farewell tour with a very eclectic group of support acts that have little-to-nothing in common with them. Post-hardcore act O'Brother made for a painfully out-of-place direct support band, under-the-radar mathcore veterans Car Bomb were devastatingly heavy, Boston's own Bentknee are talented as hell, but way too mellow for my tastes and hardcore/sludge hybrid Cult Leader reminded me why they're one of the most destructive forces in metal right now. No disrespect to any of the opening bands, but this night was about 900+ people saying goodbye to one of the most well-respected metal bands of all-time and everything else that preceded it was nothing more than time-eating appetizer.
Anyone that's followed metal closely over the past 15 years or so is aware of the buzz that surrounds The Dillinger Escape Plan's live show. They've become notorious for constant stage dives, using each venue as their own personal jungle gym and just generally destroying everything that crosses their path. Going to one of their shows is a truly unforgettable experience that can't be shaken or duplicated by another act under any circumstances and the feeling that it evokes can't be accurately describe with words.
This particular performance was exactly the type of legacy-cementing swan song I'd hoped it would be. The setlist was driven by standout material that spanned their entire discography, the room had an electric vibe that didn't let up for the entire 80 minutes they were on stage and the breakneck energy that's defined their performances since their inception was once again on full-display. They left everything they had on the stage and ensured that their fans got to experience the carnival of chaos that is their show one last time. There are no shortage of reasons why I'm going to miss Dillinger, but the unrivaled intensity and insanity of their live shows easily tops the list.
While it's not remotely surprising given their track record, Dillinger Escape Plan delivered a flawless final performance in the great city of Boston. It's going to be painful to live in a world without The Dillinger Escape Plan, but I can take solace in the fact that they went out while they were still on the top of their game.
Scores:
Bentknee 6.5/10
Cult Leader 8.5/10
Car Bomb 8/10
O'Brother 5/10
The Dillinger Escape Plan 10/10
Setlists:
Cult Leader:
Great I Am
Suffer Louder
Broken Blades
Mongrel
Walking Wastelands
A Good Life
Gutter Gods
Hate Offering
Sympathetic
Driftwood
The Dillinger Escape Plan:
Limerent Death
Panasonic Youth
Symptom of Terminal Illness
Farewell, Mona Lisa
When I Lost My Best
Sugar Coated Sour
Black Bubblegum
Surrogate
Hero of the Soviet Union
Milk Lizard
Low Feels Blvd
One of Us is the Killer
Nothing to Forget
Prancer
Encore:
Mouth of Ghosts
Sunshine the Werewolf
43% Burnt
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