Dillinger Escape Plan Concert

"It's been a few years since we've been here," said Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato Saturday night at the Avalon Theater. "It is good to be back." And oh how good it was.

Dillinger completely tore up the stage at their first concert in Utah in 5 years. With little or no introductions they blistered through a carefully crafted set list that satisfied fans new and old. Songs included "Baby's first Coffin" and "Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants" from their 2004 release Miss Machine and "Sugar Coated Sour" and "43% Burnt" from their 1999 debut album Calculating Infinity. The majority of the set list however was derived from the band's latest effort Ire Works. The intensity on stage multiplied when the band exploded into new songs like "Fix your Face" and "Milk Lizard."

Perhaps I can give you an image of how this concert went down. During the last song this was the placement of band members. Guitarist Ben Weinman headbanging atop a stacked amplifier and lighting fixture. Drummer Gil Sharone murdering his drums with relentless power. Vocalist Greg Puciato 20 feet in the air on top of the house PA system. Guitarist Jeff Tuttle mid-crowd facing his band mates. Bassist Liam Wilson... well OK he doesn't move around that much, but whatever he was doing I'm sure it justified the handlebar mustache he sports.

I would say this concert demolished ever other metal concert I have ever been to. Although the crowd was relatively small, it only made for a greater chance to experience Dillinger. And it was just that, and experience. I was extremely disappointed to see about 15 people walk out sporadically throughout the set. These losers obviously only came to see The Bled. Now don't get me wrong... The Bled put on a great show. They definitely did not even come close to the 10 year veterans in Dillinger though.

Other opening acts included Salt Lake local band And Embers Rise (pretty standard linear metal, very talented guitarist), and Heavy Heavy Low Low from San Jose. Heavy Heavy Low Low was a perfect opener for Dillinger. They were the only band that actually appealed to the style of music I had come to see. If you are a fan of Dillinger, Botch, The Red Chord type music... check them out.

(photo courtesy of www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan)