2011 BIRTHDAY FORTNIGHT: Part III: The Dillinger Escape Plan

Felipe M

The Dillinger Escape Plan have earned a reputation for having the craziest, sickest, most violent, energetic, live shows in today's music scene.  Fans don't expect a solid performance from the band, rather if they go to a show and are not sore for more than two days, they are left disappointed.  

On this particular night, The Dillinger Escape Plan (from heretofore, TDEP) started their night opening for Deftones at The Riv.  My disappointment was in the fact that I missed their opening set, but did see lead singer Greg Puciato help Chino Moreno sing "Passenger."  Nevertheless, I needed my TDEP fix for the night.  Luckily I was informed by one of my friends, after the Deftones' show, that the band had announced earlier that they would be performing a midnight show at The Bottom Lounge (somehow, I had missed the memo).  So Pathological Hate hopped aboard the mighty Saab and drove south in our search for a TDEP performance:

APRIL 30, 2011: THE BOTTOM LOUNGE, CHICAGO, IL--I believed the last time I was at The Bottom Lounge was when I saw Propagandhi.  It is a very small venue, but it's perfect for these types of shows.  Even before the opening act started, there was a buzz in the air and excitement in the atmosphere as many of us had smiles in our faces with the understanding that something special was about to happen.  Finally, TDEP got on stage and they did not disappoint.  

From the get-go, there were things that happened here that could never happen at The Riv. Most importantly I was able to wander around as I pleased.  Secondly, people were stage diving into the crowd--more often than not, the crowd would not assist in catching of said people as some of the divers fell straight into the ground.  Sure the ones who kept falling straight into the ground were the ones who looked the most drunk, however, I later found out that one of the dudes that constantly kept falling into the ground went to that show with a 104-degree fever!  I myself got kicked really hard on the side of my head at the Deftones' show and probably should not have gone to this show--at the very least i shouldn't have done all that head-banging (on Monday, I did end up going to the hospital as I battled a headache all day at work and felt this strong, tingling sensation on the side of my head where I got kicked).  

Meanwhile on stage, TDEP were on their A-game as they were playing that show as if they had some frustration to vent, constantly threatening to break something, either with their instruments or with their fists (or maybe their own bodies).  They were so aggressively furious and raw!  It is simply amazing how this band can perform this way night in and night out.  Despite the small stage and mosh pit area, large amounts of chaos reigned supreme everywhere you turned.  The show came to its climax when TDEP played "Sunshine the Werewolf" and half the crowd when up on stage to sing along to the "DESTROYER!!!" part of the song.  

Overall, the setlist was an impressive one that was dominated by the album Option Paralysis, which was perfect as that has become my favorite TDEP full-length.  I can watch this band perform "Widower," "Good Neighbor," and "Farewell, Mona Lisa" every time they come to town and not get tired of it.

After the show, a Facebook page entitled I Survived the Dillinger Escape PlanShow at the Bottom Lounge was created.  Fans who were at the show discussed were they were standing, shared their battle scars, how they lost keys, cell phones, swapped photos, videos, and some of these fans actually became friends.  A great show of solidarity by everybody involved.  

Click here to visit The Dillinger Escape Plan's official website.

To read other articles of TDEP, click here.

2011 BIRTHDAY FORTNIGHT: Part II: Deftones

Felipe M

As mentioned before on this website, I really do not like commercial music of any kind, including commercial/major label rock/alternative/metal bands.  However, Deftones have always had a special place since I was in high school listening to other commercial bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, System of a Down, Staind, etc., I always felt that Deftones would stand the test of time.  A decade and a half later, Deftones, despite a lot of internal turmoil, strenuous touring, extensive drug and alcohol use, breakups and divorces, and being lumped in the whole Nu-Metal movement, they are still making music, performing live in front of thousands of people all over the world, and still being one of the most liked and respected bands in the genre.  

The biggest test for this band occurred in November of 2008 when long time bassist, Chi Cheng was involved in a horrible car accident that left him in a coma.  The band was so distraught of the event, that the last album that Chi Cheng and his bandmates were working on, Eros, was supposed to be released as early as late 2008, was put on hold as the band did not want to release the album with Cheng in a coma.  So the band instilled the services of Sergio Vega as their new bass player (for now?) and almost on the fly, created a totally different album, one with a more optimistic and positive vibe and called it Diamond Eyes.  It would prove to be popular among fans and critics alike.

So that is the backstory of this band leading up to their Chicago stop on their 2011 spring tour:

APRIL 30, 2011: THE RIV, CHICAGO, IL-- What started out as an optimistic night of metal goodness ended up in slight disappointment as even arriving at The Riv, presumably early at 7PM or so, was not early enough to catch the opening act.  Just a little band that call themselves The Dillinger Escape Plan.  

Even worse was the fact that we were met by a jammed-packed venue as already we were ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK near the corridors that take you to the exit.  One thing I absolutely hate is being far away from the stage.  It's standing room only so I should be able to fight my way to the mosh pit.  Well, let me tell you why The Riv is the absolutely worst concert venue in Chicago:

1. Very uptight security--I know it's a lot of people to watch over, but I wouldn't be surprised if sneezing in public would be enough to get you kicked out of the venue.  You're not allowed to walk in certain areas, not allowed to stand in certain areas, it's very frustrating to deal with them.
2. Obstructed views everywhere--Even if we decided to just sit back and enjoy the show from the safest and highest slope of the venue, apparently, all the tall people like to hang out where we were stuck in the back and secondly, the 2nd floor balcony hangs almost above the mosh pit area, creating the biggest obstructed view in the whole venue. So with the tall people and balcony, we had to seperate and fight for a better view.
3. Getting to the mosh pit area is a pain--The problem with seeing a popular band like Deftones is that it brings a lot of fair-weathered fans who are just standing like statues trying to figure out when they will play songs from White Pony.  If fighting the hordes of drunk and high people and trying to reason with them to let you through is hard enough, there are levels you need to climb down in order to get to the mosh pit area.  Easy, right?  That's what stairs are for!  Unfortunately, the stairs are located in the middle of the venue and each level is barricaded by black rails.  You can hop over the black rails I suppose, but again, uptight security might kick you out for pulling such a stunt. So just fight towards the middle of each level and start going down the steps--well, again, the hordes of statues that call themselves people (or "fans") are obstructing your view of the rails and the stairs.  

Anyway, moral of the story is that The Riv sucks as a concert venue (always has and always will) and I only wish that Deftones perform at The Congress Theatre on their next Chicago date.

As far as the setlist, they kicked off by playing their first two singles from Diamond Eyes and then playing four consecutive songs from their 1990s releases, including "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)," which is the first time I've heard it live.  Also hearing it live for the first time was "Hexagram" (which was everything I had hoped for).  It was pretty cool how they played, relatively "soft" songs "Sextape" and "Beauty School" back-to-back which was followed by "Feiticeira," which is full of bondage overtones.  

Overall, it was another solid performance from Deftones.  Chino Moreno proved once again why he might just be the best front man right now and I even caught a guitar pick from guitarist Stephen Carpenter.  Only wished that I could catch The Dillinger Escape Plan, but the night was still young.  Also, spending half the show trying to make it to the pit area was absolutely unnecessary as well.  

On a more serious note, please check out this website to continue to check on the status of bassist Chi Cheng and to donate money to help with medical expenses.  

So what's the big deal about The Dillinger Escape Plan?  Click here and find out!

To find out why Felipe hates commercial music, click here.