Punters are trading half-grins and low-key taunts about the coming riot and past shows, as they gather to celebrate The Dillinger Escape Plan's 'Calculating Infinity' milestone.
It's been a hot minute, eight years in fact since I last saw The Dillinger Escape Plan tear Brisbane apart. That final Max Watt's show was bedlam. It was chaos reimagined, demolition of bodies, and the venue itself soundtracked by a touch of the melodic but mostly abrasive riffs and jarring vocals.
Last Sunday (17 August), Dimitri Minakakis was back on the mic after decades away; the question is simple. How brutal is the pit gonna be and how far will the players push tonight?
Set times are running ten minutes later than expected. That's nothing over a beer right? In no time, sliding into darkness, Ho99o9 ignite the room with a sampler pad/synth, drums and twin vocal assaults.
Jean-Claude Joseph aka theOGM (vocals/ sampler) twists beats into razor wire while Michael Eaddy (vocals) storms across the front like a street fighter (think Eddy Gordo from 'Tekken 3'. Google him, kids!).
Ho99o9 - image © Clea-marie Thorne
With Dillinger's own Billy Rymer pulling double duty on drums, their set is already hitting harder than a wrecking ball. Launching into 'Father I Stretch My Hands', can this be a Kanye cover [Ed's note: It's a Pastor T.L. Barrett gospel song]? Punk-rap, acid-fizz sounds crackle through the sampler and vocals hurtle to our ears from behind theOGM's sneers.
Rymer hammers out 'Okay, I'm Reloaded', every kick drum slamming into our chests. Tearing through 'Escape' and charging headlong into 'Target Practice', the whole thing is snapping like live wires.
They're twisting 'Mr. Sandman' into venom, baptising us with that swing between theatrical aggression and cheeky dance breaks before 'Protect My Bitch Pt. 2' rattles us all over again.
'Upside Down' pounds like a second heartbeat, the crowd rolling with it, sweat dripping into open mouths of some fans in the pit who are clued in on the Ho99o9 catalogue.
A single spotlight pins Ho99o9's cover of 'Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)'. It isn't the Crystal Waters club anthem; it's their own mutation. They rip the theme of homelessness into a jagged, industrial, hip hop nightmare, with distorted vocals and punishing beats.
Ho99o9 - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Desperation replaces groove, chaos replaces polish, and the whole thing thrashes with Ho99o9's signature venom. The beat jerks into the manic jolt of 'Sub-Zer0' and by the time 'Bite My Face' rips through the PA, the pit is detonating, limbs swinging, wordless yells bouncing off the ceiling.
'LA Riots' fans the flames harder and 'The Dope Dealerz' seals the riot with a final cyclone. Eaddy and theOMG stormed the barrier a couple of times, but Eaddy is now crowd surfing and cutting loose in the mosh pit crush.
Sinatra's ghost pops in through 'My Way', only to get eaten whole by the closing double-punch of 'F.O.G' and 'Godflesh'. As they exit, Rymer even helps them pack down the kit, in true Dillinger DIY style, sweat dripping off his arms before he has to do it all again.
The hush before Dillinger commence is long enough to sting, fans close to the front vibrating in a shared tremor of anticipation. Then the recording of '*#..' As James Love (guitar) strides across the stage followed by Liam Wilson (bass) as Rymer takes his throne again.
With a pent-up energy I can feel from the floor, Ben Weinman (lead guitar) appears and Minakakis stalks out to stand before us, spitting the first venomous syllables of 'Sugar Coated Sour' as spotlights carve his silhouette into the red haze.
The Dillinger Escape Plan - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Weinman is slicing impossible time signatures while spinning himself and his axe like a lunatic, Wilson rumbles under our feet, Rymer smashing the tubs like this is his first set, and Love nails chaos to the grid with feral precision.
'The Running Board' batters us sideways, Weinman ripping the angular staccato riff with machine-gun precision while Rymer's snare rolls tumble over the syncopated accents in perfect chaos.
Spiralling us into 'The Mullet Burden', Love threads the off-kilter chord stabs that slide into Wilson's thumping bass pulse, twisting the groove into that signature angular swing. Man, it's getting tense in here, but I quickly note there is not a tsunami of crowd surfers crashing the barrier as I expected.
In contrast, Weiman keeps leaping of the stacks and drum riser; once making me hold my breath as he deftly caught himself from taking a tumble and twisting an ankle! Minakakis thanks fans for rocking up, dropping the expected bomb by vocalising that tonight is the band's final Australian show, ever.
In saying that, the players on the stage before us are shredding 'Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction' with every expectation. Weinman's tremolo-picked lines ricochet over Rymer's rapid-fire toms, making the riff feel like it's constantly leaping and landing in the wrong place on purpose, while Minakakis snarls and prowls in his own less dramatic style.
The Dillinger Escape Plan - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The opening harmonic flurry in 'Clip The Apex' lands exactly where it should. Holy crap they nailed it live (to my ears at least). Then Ho99o9's theOGM reappears beside Minakakis as 'Breathe' explodes, The Prodigy reborn in hardcore feedback and sweat. A short but sweet lived treat.
Without a pause, they flip into a warped dirge of 'Don't Dream It's Over', turning Crowded House's bittersweet anthem into a phantom hanging over the pit. From here it's no mercy.
Read our recent interview with Ben Weinman.
'Destro's Secret' and Minakakis pipes up, reminding us it's the 25th anniversary of 'Calculating Infinity', grinning as he talks about how wild it feels to be back with the band tearing through these tracks, before 'Sandbox Magician' crashes on us like collapsing buildings.
Weinman's hammering-pinch harmonics screech across the venue, while Rymer's tom accents keep the chaos tethered. Rymer's solo in '4th Grade Dropout' is a thunder dome, sticks striking like steel pylons splitting air, catching the odd off-beat riff from Weinman and Love in perfect misalignment. My chest feels like it's running a subwoofer.
It's time to unleash 'Abe The Cop' and it tears out, feral and jagged. Weinman slides between dissonant chords, while Rymer drops polyrhythms that twist the meter into violent unpredictability, before 'Weekend Sex Change' spins us into a dizzying blur.
The Dillinger Escape Plan - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Minakakis' delivery is staunch and unmistakably his own. He's less frantic than Weinman and Wilson with fewer aggressive gestures, but still commanding. No, the pit isn't as chaotic as that last Brisbane show in 2017; there are fewer crowd surfers than expected, but the energy is alive right in the middle of it all.
'Variations On A Cocktail Dress' claws its way through the heat haze coming from the diehard fist-pumping pit dwellers as Wilson's bass rumbles like an earthquake under Weinman's angular melody lines.
Weinman then asks if we want one that's really old, with Minakakis telling us we're about to go way back in time to a fan favourite, 'Monticello'. It sets in like a black fog wrapping the rails before 'Jim Fear' detonates like a landmine, but Minakakis checks to see if there's "any Jim's" in the house before it explodes.
Weinman's angular riffs almost dance around Rymer's relentless cymbal smashes. The endgame comes fast. 'Come To Daddy' turning Aphex Twin's nightmare into a pixelated apocalypse, every edge sharpened to a blade.
The Dillinger Escape Plan - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Then, because once isn't enough, they hit '43% Burnt' with a double helping of the outro, each wave heavier, more seismic, until the final chord drops us into a moment of silence before cheers erupt.
As the last notes of '43% Burnt' fade and the lights come up, it hits – the end of an era in Australia. Dillinger have played what is very likely their final Australian show. Lingering on the stage to hand out guitar picks and set lists to punters still gripping on to the barrier, ears are ringing, ribs bruised from bass vibrations and soaked in sweat.
Weinman is the first to jump down and hug every single one. Yep, shaking hands, hugging strangers and familiar-faced fans, leaning into the crowd, to give personal thanks for showing up to all the faces gleaming with sweaty grins. You bet I got mine!
Fans who stayed a little longer get to meet and greet with the rest of the band who are happy to get photos with them, signing whatever merch they offer up to be autographed.
While the rest of the crew are leaving with throbbing ears and hearts still pounding from the precision and intensity of a band that defined a generation of noise and mathcore. It's been a controlled storm, a final farewell that lands exactly where it should. Feral, vivid and unforgettable.
More photos from the concert.
