Young Love @ The Rob Roy

For any band who flirt with the idea of adding performance art to their live show, there is always the issue of how much they are willing to toe the line between good performance and good music. As a band led by two artists who have been working collaboratively since high school (and featuring three members from my high school art class) Young Love not only flirt with that idea, they take it out for dinner and dancing, twirling back and forth, over and under that line.

The focus of tonight’s show is clearly on front men Royce and Gavan. The performance starts from the moment they step on stage. On top of a solid rhythm laid down by the bass and drums, Royce – looking like a cross between 60’s hipster and 80’s nerd – approaches the microphone only to bark wildly, jump all over Gavan and proceed to lick his guitar strings. Gavan returns the favour before grabbing Royce’s wrist, an act which sends him into spasms of electric shock, eventually falling to the floor.

In a band such as this it comes as no real surprise to find that the normally quite and reserved Royce takes the focus as lead singer, sounding similar to early Nick Cave which perfectly suited their late dark ‘80’s indie rock inspired sound. Yet Gavan is not willing to give up all the spotlight, often jumping into the crowd while playing, drawing the crowd into the performance, and spearing punters with the head of his guitar. Royce soon followed with a jump backwards into the space, perfectly timed for an audience member experiment with a gig flyer and a lighter to rain down around him.

But every time the art seemed too much, it was anchored into place by a solid and musical rhythm section. Drummer Sam provided each song with it’s own unique style and feel through his varied and compelling drumming, while Daniel’s bass lines were the musical driving force of many of the songs. Indeed the few songs near the end without Daniel seemed to suffer for his absence. The last song saw Sam switch from drums to keyboard, lined up next to Gavan (who had switched a few times between guitar and keyboard during the set) as Royce played guitar and sang on his knees, a fitting closing image for such a show.

Not quite art, not just music, Young Love seem to provide more than both. Whatever it was, it was compelling, and I left with a smile, and a desire to return to their next performance.

The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Stockholm Syndrome @ The Corner, 04/03/05

Three shadows on stage start making noises, which slowly build into a song, and soon the crowd realises that The Stockholm Syndrome have begun their set.The instrumental introduction is indicative of the atmosphere The Stockholm Syndrome set up. Straying into very heavy territory, that at times verged on grind (especially when joined by their vocalist), the quality of the musicianship kept a strong sense of melody and competent song structure at all times. Even when flowing through changing time signatures. Interesting use of notes and static effects on the vocals added to the impression that this band is not content to be your average hardcore band, and should be one to follow.

But from the beginning The Stockholm Syndrome were pushing uphill. This crowd were here for The Dillinger Escape Plan. We wouldn’t have been content with an average hardcore set, and while these youngsters put on a worthy display, we were waiting for the masters.

Dillinger also hit the stage with an instrumental, the aptly titled Proceed With Caution, from their self titled first release. The arrival of vocalist Greg Puciato on stage led straight into Panasonic Youth, a 2 and a half minute assault which opens the bands third and most recent full length album Miss Machine. It also saw Puciato’s prompt exit from the stage as he ran straight through and launched himself into the crowd for the opening lines. “We wrote these plans, took the order, the architecture, and followed them to the end until the gears ground cold and relentless. There was no remorse.” Once again, the opening set the tone for the show. Relentless, complex, and absolutely no remorse.

It is an incredibly physical experience too. Both for the fans and band alike. Puciato and guitarists Ben Weinmann and Brian Benoit spent much of their time leaning directly over, if not on top of the crowd. Technical problems plagued the bass rig of Liam Wilson, but weren’t enough to hold him back. Drummer Chris Pennie meanwhile provided more power and complex rhythms from his minimal set-up than most drummers could do with every drum in the world. How the band managed to throw themselves around with such force while also focusing the required energy on classics like 43% Burnt, Sugar Coated Sour and the technical tour-de-force that is The Mullet Burden – songs which created the math metal/jazz hardcore fusion genres – is something that has to be seen to be fully comprehended.

Puciato in particular was not content to remain on stage, at times hanging off the speakers suspended from the roof of The Corner, swinging them until they looked in danger of falling off, then launching himself into the sea before him. The fans were only too happy to support him and relished the chance to sing along as he pushed his microphone into their face. One lucky punter even got the opportunity (an probably lived out the dream of most in attendance) to sing the opening line to When Good Dog do Bad Things, the only song performed from the bands EP collaboration with Mike Patton Irony is a Dead Scene.

I had the pleasure of meeting the band at Missing Link earlier in the day and having a brief chat about what they had in store to make this show different from their last appearance at The Corner just under a year ago. Both Weinmann and Puciato promised more tracks from Miss Machine, the album which has seen the band retain the strengths they so perfectly displayed on Calculating Infinity, while also expanding their horizons. This promise was well and truly delivered on, with the industrial tinged Phone Home and the epic Baby’s First Coffin proving to be two of the highlights. Other notable tracks included The Perfect Design, Sunshine The Werewolf and Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants.

The Dillinger Escape Plan don’t do encores. And the entire set took just over an hour. But when you watch the amount of effort the band put into that hour, it feels like a lifetime. It’s hard to imagine them backstage doing anything other than collapsing. Relentless, complex, and absolutely no remorse.