Ken Geiger on the Swan Song of The Dillinger Escape Plan: A Review of Both Dissociation and the Band's Last-Ever NYC Show at Webster Hall on 10/15/16

Photo: Ken Geiger

Farewell
by Ken Geiger

The Dillinger Escape Plan, Dissociation, 2016

Saying goodbye is one of the hardest parts of this path called life that we walk with others. We think of all that could have been said, done, and appreciated more after all is said and done. That is initially how I felt upon receiving the news that The Dillinger Escape Plan were going to break up after this tour cycle. But after listening to their final offering, Dissociation, I realized I have no "if only" or "what if" statements about this band. They ended on their own terms, and my God did they end it perfectly.

Holding nothing back from the listener, Dissociation throws us right into the fire with the ferocious opening number "Limerent Death." With schizophrenic instrumentals being accompanied by the vocal gymnastics of frontman Greg Puciato, this song harkens back to the crazier days of the band's debut album, Calculating Infinity. While that is certainly refreshing for long time fans to hear (and for new listeners to be shocked by), this album is certainly no trip down memory lane for Dillinger.

Songs like "Low Feel Boulevard" and "Honeysuckle" throw in some great moments of jazz influence. Instrumental track "Fugue" is a total nod at IDM pioneers Aphex Twin and Squarepusher with its mind-boggling drum and bass basis. Then the title-track goes into territory the band has never dared to go before. Orchestral instrumentation anchors the track, as Greg Puciato mournfully sings "finding a way to die alone," which cannot help but evoke an emotional reaction out of any listener, especially a hardcore listener like myself. But I have to say by far my favorite track on the album is "Nothing to Forget." This is just a classic modern day Dillinger track. It is raging, technical and has some brilliant flashes of melody that even an outsider to the band's music can appreciate.
 
If you did not know this was an album review, you probably would have assumed that the first two sentences were for a eulogy I was writing for a lost family member or something along those lines. Knowing this is just a band to some, I naturally come off as being an oddball for talking about the end of a band in such emotional terms. But New Jersey's own The Dillinger Escape Plan is far more than "just a band" to me. Over the past seven years that I have known of this group's existence, they have found their way into my family life at home. My mom, who is in no way well-versed with any heavy or underground music at all, knows exactly who I am referring to when I start to talk about Dillinger. All five times I have seen them live, I have been accompanied by my father. Initially going as a labor of love (as he calls it), he now anticipates their shows. He even expressed feelings of sorrow to me when he heard the news the band was calling it a day.

Clearly, Dillinger cannot simply be "just a band" to me. This is a part of my own family I am discussing by this point. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to type out, but I did it because I want to let anyone reading this know: If you do not know about The Dillinger Escape Plan already or have not had the chance to catch them live, you must acquaint yourself and go. Listen to this album. To me, this is THE gold standard of a "swan song record." Do not miss out on the chance to be part of something that is truly moving.

Dissociation is out now via Party Smasher Inc. / Cooking Vinyl America.

Photo: Ken Geiger

That Which Webster Hall Could Not Handle

When I first arrived to the vicinity of Webster Hall at around noon on October 15th, I ran into a person that was all too familiar to me: Greg Puciato, singer of the Dillinger Escape Plan. I was amazed, considering I had never seen him offstage before, just hanging out. Of course, my natural impulse was to approach him and finally tell him how much his crazy vocals and stage antics over the years have meant to a fan like me. We ended up chatting for a couple minutes about a multitude of things: Eyehategod, his synth-driven side project the Black Queen, working out and of course all the countless Dillinger shows I had seen over the years. I finally mentioned the last time I saw them was in 2015 at Irving Plaza. Puciato quickly threw out the claim that the Irving Plaza show was his favorite New York City show he has ever done. He took a quick pause after saying that, though, before telling me, "I don’t know about that actually. Let's see how tonight goes." That was the sole indication I needed to realize that The Dillinger Escape Plan were holding nothing back for their final NYC show.
 
The evening started out with experimental rock outfit Bent Knee. They managed to combine great piano melodies and harmonious female lead vocals with intricate rhythm sections and some of the darker chord progressions of heavy metal music. Out of the 3 opening acts of the night, they grabbed my attention the most. I would say they are fairly accessible to both fans of Dillinger as well as more indie rock audiences.

I ended up missing a good amount of the Cult Leader set, so I have no input on how they were. But O'Brother managed to rile up some momentum for me with their own unique twist on post-metal. While most of the genre where they reside relies on the power of spaced out riffs and powerful drumming, these guys managed to find spaces where fast-paced, busy drumming and prog-rock guitar could fit perfectly within your typical post-metal structure. Another band I am going to have look into for the future.

But, of course, my mind had been on one thing the entire time: seeing what kind of craziness The Dillinger Escape Plan would bring to the table. How would the crowd be for this? Needless to say, I think that Puciato may need to change his opinion on what NYC show is his favorite now.

From the opening drum fill of "Limerent Death" to open the show, right up to the ending crowd rush to "43% Burnt" to close things out, the band brought an otherworldly intensity that I had not seen before that night. Guitarists Ben Weinman and Kevin Antreassian managed to perfectly play the songs while crowd surfing, swinging their instruments around their necks and anything else you can possibly conceive as entertaining. The rhythm section of Billy Rymer and Liam Wilson is always reliable in keeping the songs moving forward and anchored down, even if half the audience may bum rush the stage.

Then, of course, there's Puciato. He is more than just your average frontman. He is probably the most insane stage performer in the music industry today. He sings, he crowd surfs, he wrestles around with fans and he does some of the most insane leaps of faith that no other rational human being would probably attempt. This show might have seen the most impressive of those leaps, though, as he jumped off the second story of the Webster Hall grand ballroom and into the crowd during the tail-end of the main set closer, "Prancer." Anyone who has seen that room before is definitely picturing the insanity of living from such a feat. But, somehow, Puciato managed to pull it off and then brush it off as no big deal. Of course, I am a little biased as Puciato let me add a few yells throughout the show on the mic. That I always love.

Photo: Ken Geiger

So I don't know what else I can really say beyond, this had to have been not only the best time I have seen The Dillinger Escape Plan play live, but also one of the greatest shows I have ever attended. The amount of energy the band produce onstage is infectious. It has only been a few days now since the show, but I long for November to come already; so I can go to Long Island and catch them again. At the same time, I don't want time to move because that means we only come closer to the end of Dillinger. This show was just one of those times where you wish you could be in the moment for an eternity.

Titus Andronicus Played Webster Hall With Craig Finn, 2/29/16

No Faith, No Future, No Problem

I was trying to get my credentials for the evening sorted out at the door when I heard someone politely say, "Hi. I need to make some changes to the Titus Andronicus guest list."

"I can't make any changes now," said the woman working the door. "You need to talk to the promoter. Go wait outside his door, and I'll let him know you're coming."

"Uh... OK... And where would I find that, please?"

"Just around the corner over there."

"Thank you."

I turned, extended my hand and said, "Hi, Patrick," to the questioner and founder / frontman of Titus Andronicus, Patrick Stickles. We said our hellos, and he went off to take care of his issue. At no point during his exchange with the woman at the door did he try to throw his weight around as a member of the headlining band. I don't know. For some reason, that said a lot to me.

Anyway...

I'd come to Webster Hall to see the first night of the Titus Andronicus / Craig Finn "No Faith, No Future, No Problem Tour." My love of both Titus Andronicus and Craig Finn / The Hold Steady should come as no surprise to anyone who's ever stopped by this blog, and to say that this was pretty much a dream show for me would be an understatement. This would be my first time at Webster Hall, so it was excitement all around.

It turned out that last night's show featured a photo pit with the typical "First 3, No Flash" rule. I actually love that. Without it, my OCD takes over; and I end up shooting the show all night instead of just watching. Just after 8pm, security opened the gate and let us in for the start of Craig Finn's set.

Finn's band were a 3-piece with Finn on guitar, Falcon Valdez on drums, and Will Berman on bass. This made for a more low-key sound than Finn featured at Wonder Bar in November when the band were touring as a quartet with guitarist Arun Bali. But it also gave things a feel that was closer to that of Faith in the Future, kind of a quiet record that lets Finn's stories take center stage.

They opened with a stripped down version of Faith in the Future's opening track, "Maggie I've Been Searching for Our Son." The 45-minute set touched on both of Finn's solo records with songs like "Jackson" and a revamped "No Future" from Clear Heart Full Eyes and other Faith... tracks "Christine" and "Newmyer's Roof." Non-album selections included the just-released "Screenwriter's School" along with The Hold Steady's "Certain Songs" and Lifter Puller's "Nassau Coliseum." Finn was also a lower-key version of his Hold Steady frontman persona throughout the set, his wild gesticulations kept to a minimum as he played guitar. We'd get another version of Craig Finn later.

At around 9:15, Patrick Stickles and keyboard player Elio DeLuca took the stage for a quiet rendition of "To Old Friends and New." Stickles stalked the stage with his guitar slung over his shoulder as the audience sang along. At one point, he broke out the harmonica. As the song finished up, the rest of the band made their way out on stage. Titus Andronicus have a different look for this tour with R.J. Gordon taking over bass duties from Julian Veronesi, and was that Pharmacist Chris Wilson on drums in place of Eric Harm?

Following the opening song, the band went into The Most Lamentable Tragedy's opening pairing of "No Future Part IV: No Future Triumphant" and "Stranded (On My Own)." I could feel the barricade heaving behind me as the crowd went crazy. From there, the show careened through several "greatest hits" like "My Time Outside the Womb," "Titus Andronicus," and "No Future Part Three."

I grabbed a spot along the rail to stage left that was up front, where I like to be, but outside the fray in the middle. Things did appear to get a little nuts in the center during the run of songs from TMLT's second act that ends with "Dimed Out." The band closed the Titus Andronicus portion of the evening with "A More Perfect Union" and all 15 or so minutes of "The Battle of Hampton Roads," a song that never feels jammy or overstays its welcome despite its length.

Then it was time for Craig Finn to join the band on stage. Everyone was expecting it when they all lit into The Replacements' "Bastards of Young;" but that didn't lessen the impact, Finn at the edge of the stage, arms spread wide, coaxing the audience to sing along.

"Do you mind if I bring out a friend?" Finn asked, and Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler joined everyone for a thundering rendition of "Stuck Between Stations." Finn was in full Hold Steady mode at this point, and the crowd was a sea of raised arms. Everyone left the stage, only to be called out one more time -- Titus Andronicus and Craig Finn -- for a rendition of "I'm Waiting for the Man."

Titus Andronicus, Craig Finn, The Replacements, The Hold Steady, Lou Reed. I couldn't have had a better night. The tour continues tonight in Baltimore and covers the South and Midwest before making its way back East to wind up in Philly on 3/27. Catch them if you can.

You can see shots of both sets at the links below.

Titus Andronicus

Craig Finn