Words by Stevie Lynch
Pix by Sarah Gilpin
Ekka, what Ekka? Tonight’s about The Dillinger Escape Plan at The Tivoli Theatre, once a parking spot was secured all the way over near The Brightside, which also has a show. Whatever that show is, it is irrelevant compared to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Dillinger return with their original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis.
A massive lineup out the front of The Tivoli is misleading, as the early crowd is sparse on the floor. That quickly changes as a DJ appears and launches into some heavy dub-step style beats. A vocalist and drummer join him shortly after and launch into what, at first, I can only describe as a heavy cross between punk and metal with a hardcore edge and electronic heartbeat.
The pit grows increasingly packed very quickly however, the crowd seems a little confused about what is happening on stage. There is no guitarist, but there are heavy guitars pushing through the mix. Confusion and Mr Snowman interludes aside, the band receives a massive response after each track. The grooves get heavier, and the bounce of the kicks thump the venue into a non-stop rattle.
The band blends and bends genres into an eclectic mix of soul-crushing heavy riffs, thumping rhythms, melodic vocals, ferocious screams, flowing rhymes, and 808 sub drops. The longer it carries on, the messier the pit gets. If the crowd keep this up, they may not last through the onslaught that Dillinger will very shortly bring. That was HO99O9, and they were one hell of an opener, and are one hell of an act to follow!
The room darkens, and red lasers beam out from the rear of the stage. Dillinger enter as strobes blast through the lasers and tribal drums pump through the PA. What follows can only be described as frantic, and the crowd erupt into absolute madness as expected.
After smashing through Sugar Coated Sour, The Running Board, The Mullet Burden, and Clip the Apex… Accept Instruction, the band kicks into a kick ass heavy cover of The Prodigy’s smash hit Breathe. They somehow then miraculously mash it into Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over, which was an odd twist. The riffs keep coming in a relentless and aggravating manner, and the band smash their way through Destro’s Secret and Sandbox Magician with their signature mix of unusual time signatures and broken grooves.
The already excited, mesmerised, and energised crowd are then further enthralled with an extended outro drum solo at the end of 4th Grade Dropout. This blast of pure aural assault lifted the pit into a frenzy for Abe the Cop and Weekend Sex Change. More accurately, more of a frenzy. This show is one hell of an experience if you can keep up with it.
An interlude slows the show down for a brief moment, and then the band joins in with Variations on a Cocktail Dress. Absolute devastation follows as they rip into Monticello and Jim Fear. They then ask for the crowd for their souls and eat them as they blast through a cover of Aphex Twin’s Come to Daddy.
They finish the set with 43% Burnt and the most epic of squeaking breakdowns that destroys the already knackered crowd, twice! The crowd erupts, and the band leave stage, never to be seen in Australia again … for now … and there was no encore necessary after that!
If you missed it, well, you missed it!
