REVIEW: The Dillinger Escape Plan @ Northcote Theatre, Melbourne

The Dillinger Escape Plan brought the energy (and almost burst my eardrum) at Northcote Theatre as they celebrate 25 years of Calculating Infinity.

After an eight year hiatus, The Dillinger Escape Plan are back (sort of). Currently roaring through an Australian run of shows, one of the most defining acts in mathcore – although they continue to escape a clean genre definition, really – is celebrating their 1999 album Calculating Infinity, and fans rocked up in droves to soak in the sonic dissonance and dynamic onstage energy.

Kicking off the night, openers Ho99o9 (pronounced ‘horror’) brought their industrial hardcore-punk-rap blend to what began as a sleepy crowd, dotted with devoted listeners repping their merch and literally throwing ass, horny style. It wasn’t long before those who didn’t know what the duo was all about well and truly knew, though, with the amped-up crowd (and circle pit) growing exponentially with each track. Having recently taken the stage at Warped Tour, Ho99o9 are ones to keep an eye on.

With the crowd sufficiently warmed up, it was time for The Dillinger Escape Plan. The main lights dimmed, replaced by red laser beams as the absolutely chock-full venue held their breath in anticipation. The band wasted no time getting right down to business, performing with a dynamism that was deeply infectious, even as I tried to peer over the throngs of tall dudes in beanies and glasses (a uniform, of sorts) to get a better view as they ripped through Calculating Infinity, other deep cuts, and covers of Crowded House and Aphex Twin.

The sheer chaos of seeing The Dillinger Escape Plan perform live cannot be understated. While perhaps not to the “shitting on stage then throwing a bag of it into the crowd” or climbing stacks levels of antics, the band threw themselves around stage with reckless abandon, not letting the energy dip for even a moment.

The stage performance was a physical embodiment of the organised chaos of the music itself – returning original vocalist Dimitri bouncing around the entire stage, while Ben, James and Liam thrashed around as they continued to masterfully play (with a few spin jumps added in there). Billy Rymer threw his all into all-out and at times unconventional drumming behind the kit. This is all to say – The Dillinger Escape Plan was giving it everything they’ve got.

For all the brutality sonically and physically though, this was a band that was having fun. Dimitri was all too happy to have a little boogie on stage with his bandmates and the joy onstage was truly felt in the enthralled crowd. The pit was pure madness from start to finish, soon encompassing a not so insignificant portion of the Northcote Theatre’s floor.

If one moment of seeing The Dillinger Escape Plan sticks with me as the definition of the night’s chaos, noise, and power though, it’s the fact that the show was so brutal I genuinely believed one of my eardrums was about to burst. I’ll remember to bring ear protection next time.

The one drawback from the night – possibly the venue, possibly my choice of location on the floor – was the sound. Gradually improving over the evening, the vocals from both sets were slightly drowned out by everything else – and when it came to addressing the crowd, the mic setup sounded almost muffled. It did get better as time went on, thankfully, as initially it was near impossible to make out what Dimitri was saying. I’m sure he had great stuff to say initially! But I’ll never know.

Ending on ‘43% Burnt’, The Dillinger Escape Plan went out with a bang on Wednesday night. Just to cap off the overall vibe that this was a group performing to truly celebrate one of their most defining albums with fans, multiple members finished off by jumping down to the crowd to individually high five, hug and shake hands with attendees lining the barrier. A rare sight at shows so incredibly busy (and crowds that spent the show throwing their entire bodies around in a way I’ve not seen in Aussie pits in years), but an extremely welcome and wholesome one as the night reached its denouement.

If you’ve been pondering seeing The Dillinger Escape Plan on this tour run – this is your sign to do it. There may never be another chance for Aussies to catch this level of chaotic mastery and onstage vitality from the band again.