Concert Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan-- Boston, MA-- November 16th, 2016

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

Concert Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan-- Allston, MA-- August 7th, 2016

Lineup: The Dillinger Escape Plan/Lunglust
Venue: Great Scott, Allston, MA
Date: August 7th, 2016

Lunglust: I'm not nearly as tuned in as I should be to Boston's local metal scene, but from what I've heard from various sources that are in the know, chaotic hardcore/crust punk act Lunglust is one of the area's seminal acts at the moment. Based on their set last night, I have to say I don't understand how they've managed to garner so much acclaim on the local level. Their sound reminded me of the spastic hardcore-meets sludge sound that bands like Gaza (now known as Cult Leader) and Trap Them have perfected throughout their respective careers without the frenzied energy levels and parade of breakneck riffs that have made those bands longtime fixtures in the national underground metal scene. Their solid vocalist and competent musicianship made their set tolerable, but their time on stage mostly just made me think of how many other bands have done a better job of playing this style over the years. 

(Warning: This review is a complete fanboy freakout rant. I usually try to avoid gushing about something to a masturbatory extent, but I saw one of my all-time favorite bands in a venue that's the size of a fucking tool shed, so I can't hold back. I sincerely apologize for my lack of maturity and temporary disregard of journalistic objectivity.)

The Dillinger Escape Plan: The first six times I'd seen The Dillinger Escape Plan were merely an appetizer for what transpired last night. Seeing a band with a live show that's as notoriously intense and insane as Dillinger's in a 200-capacity venue two days after they announced they were disbanding once the touring cycle for their new album Dissociation (due out October 14th) raised the energy from both the band and crowd to an unprecedented level. As soon as the opening notes to "Prancer" hit, Dillinger turned Great Scott into a tornado of destruction that didn't let up for the entire hour they were on stage.

I could ramble on at length about how great the setlist was or how tight the band sounded, but it was the size of the venue that ultimately made this show one for the annals. The intimate setting amplified every thing that I love about this band and somehow got be more immersed in the performance than the previous times I'd seen them. Being 50 feet away from the stage while Dillinger ripped through 14 beautifully chaotic gems and pulled out their trademark "holy shit"-inducing stage antics (guitarist Ben Weinman sticking his head through ceiling tiles while members of the crowd hold him up, Greg Puciato singing while hanging upsides down from the rafters, from the speakers, etc., stage dives galore) was an experience that I never even dreamed of having (the previous smallest venue I'd seen them in held 1,000 people). The rush of being caught in the middle of this wave of musical chaos in such a small space was unlike anything I've ever experienced before and I highly doubt I'll ever match the level of adrenaline I felt during this performance ever again.  
 
They are set to do at least one more tour of the United States (Puciato said at the end of the set that they'll be back in Boston one more time this fall before they disband, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did a final headlining tour in 2017) before they hang it up, but I can not overstate how much that I'm going to The Dillinger Escape Plan when they're gone. There is not a band on the planet that can even come close to matching the intensity, energy and sense of unhinged mayhem they produce on record and bring to the stage every time they perform. Words can't describe how thankful I am to have gotten the opportunity to see them play in such a small venue before they call it quits. Every Dillinger show I've show seen in the past six years has been special, but this one stands well above the rest.

Scores:
Lunglust 5/10
The Dillinger Escape Plan 10/10

Setlist:
The Dillinger Escape Plan:
Prancer
Limerent Death
Milk Lizard
Panasonic Youth
Room Full of Eyes
Hero of the Soviet Union
Nothing's Funny
Crossburner
Happiness is a Smile
Good Neighbor
Farewell, Mona Lisa
When I Lost My Bet
The Mullet Burden
Sunshine the Werewolf