Review by Darshun
April 24th, 2014, The Echoplex, Los Angeles CA: In support of their latest LP ‘One Of Us Is The Killer’, New Jersey metal/hardcore veterans The Dillinger Escape Plan embarked on a North American headline tour on April 3rd, with Sacramento hardcore punk outfit Trash Talk, San Diego’s noisecore group Retox and Norwegian avant-garde band Shining as support acts, and made their way to Los Angeles to play at the Echoplex. Our man Darshun was on-site to capture the show for us through his words. Read his review below.
Shining played a great set of tunes which included a couple of new songs from their forthcoming album. I was impressed with the singer who would switch back and forth from guitar to saxophone during a song, and was in awe of the drummer because some of the rhythms seemed fairly complex due to the nature of their previous album (Black Jazz). They closed with 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson and played it with their own flare. It was a relief to see a band that is sort of in a different genre than The Dillinger Escape Plan since it was a four-band bill and I hope to see these guys again soon.
Set List:
01. I Won’t Forget
02. The One Inside
03. Fisheye
04. My Dying Drive
05. The Madness and the Damage Done
06. 21st Century Schizoid Man
Shining links:
Shining.no
facebook.com/ShiningNorway
twitter.com/ShiningOfficial
Retox spazzed out in usual fashion with their dissonant noisecore. I’ve seen them several times now and they don’t disappoint. Their bursts of energy last for roughly a minute to a couple of minutes per song. During their set, Justin Pearson’s shirt was slightly ripped by a heckler and for the rest of the set Justin’s eyes were set to kill. However, he still was able to concentrate on the 100mph lyrics he was screaming into the microphone. Brian Evans was furiously hitting the skins with a frantic pace to accommodate Retox’s bursts of ridiculous speed. Guitarist Michael Crain and bassist Thor Dickey stayed in line with the music like a twisted set of marionettes having seizures. If Retox comes to your town, make sure you see what they’re all about.
Retox links:
Retox.bandpage.com
facebook.com/RetoxRules
twitter.com/Retox31g
Trash Talk was the only sore one in the bunch for me with their hardcore/punk sound. I might have seen them before but I can’t recall where I saw them at. The set was not very memorable to me at all. This only built up the anticipation for the headlining act.
Well, I have seen The Dillinger Escape Plan a little over ten times now, even with Dimitri Minakakis back in the day. Now with Greg Puciato for the past 12 years they’ve torn down many doors that ever got in their way. But in hindsight I think they intimidated the hell out of anything that tried to get in their way. It was great to see DEP at the Echoplex with a line-up of comparable bands made the bill fantastic. I was happy to see and hear “43% Burnt” near the beginning of the set since I did recall some of their previous sets it would be a closer. “43% Burnt” was a staple song for them and to see it early in the set was a breath of fresh air, meaning that the rest of the set would be a great mix of new and old. They played several songs off of their latest as well as a new song that was sold as a 7″ single called, “Happiness is a Smile.” Also, a Dillinger Escape Plan show wouldn’t be complete without strobe lights.
The Dillinger Escape Plan links:
DillingerEscapePlan.org
facebook.com/DillingerEscapePlan
twitter.com/DillingerEscPln
Set List:
01. Prancer
02. Farewell, Mona Lisa
03. Milk Lizard
04. 43% Burnt
05. Panasonic Youth
06. Room Full of Eyes
07. Happiness Is a Smile
08. Hero of the Soviet Union
09. Nothing’s Funny
10. One of Us Is the Killer
11. Crossburner
12. Good Neighbor
13. When I Lost My Bet
Encore:
14. The Mullet Burden
15. Come to Daddy (Aphex Twin cover)
16. Sunshine the Werewolf
Remaining Tour Dates:
May 3 – Austin, TX at The Mohawk
May 4 – Oklahoma City, OK at The Conservatory
May 5 – Little Rock, AR at Juanita’s Cafe & Bar
May 6 – New Orleans, LA at One Eyed Jacks
May 7 – Atlanta, GA at Masquerade
May 10 – Hartford, CT at Webster Theatre
The Echoplex links:
TheEcho.com
facebook.com/EchoLA
twitter.com/TheEchoLA
instagram.com/TheEchoLA