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Rating: "We're in Europe, it's great as always. Vienna and Zurich were great, but Milan, holy fuck, Milan, absolutely amazing show. We hadn't played there in almost eight years or so and it was absolutely incredible. We won't take so long next time."
Even Greg is pleased and rejoices for the concert held in Milan this past February 3rd.
Who could disagree with him.
I leave at around 19:00, careful not to bring anything with me: just a 10-year-old cellphone for emergencies, and that's it: I'm content to break my bones under the stage, better to leave objects at home.
I arrive at the Circolo around 20:00, maybe even earlier, and it's already packed with people in front of the gates, waiting to get in. While waiting, I manage to find some of my friends who have come from various regions of Italy for the event. Every now and then, they would open the gates only to close them immediately afterward, crushing every hope of us poor souls in the cold. I'm told that many were left waiting until well past 10, but by taking advantage of a side lane (apparently for those already registered), I managed to get in before 9; we were at most about twenty who had the same luck.
Inside, I head straight to the merch booth: short and long sleeve shirts (including one particularly awesome!), and most importantly (so to speak) such "Download card": You buy it for ten euros and you can legally download the new album "Option Paralysis" with 3 bonus tracks. Cool, right? Very nerdy.
Inside, I lose sight of my friends. Who cares, I would add, I'm waiting for the concert to start after all.
Soon I see the indoor stage for the openers, and, through the projectors on the walls, the outdoor stage for the Dillinger.
According to the flyer, Cubre was supposed to play first. Instead, the opening performance of the evening goes to Hierophant (the Italian ones, not to be confused with the side-project of Man Is The Bastard of the same name). Well-prepared for sure, but already after two or three songs, they began to sound quite monotonous. The singer had a great voice, very powerful, but with too much of a monotone! Not to mention the bass, which was really too undervalued compared to the guitars (but I might be biased).
After a good half-hour, perhaps even more, they stepped down from the stage to give way to Cubre, perhaps the first band to play this genre (post-hardcore?) in Italy: When they were playing, the bands they were compared to—the Dillinger, above all—had yet to explode (the group's first material dates back to around '98 and the first mini to '99, the same year as Calculating Infinity).
Unfortunately, I can say very little about their performance; after the first songs, I moved away to secure a spot at the outdoor stage (already quite crowded), although in the end, I didn't do so immediately.
The tent eventually begins to fill up, around 11, it was already so full that I don't know how I managed to get in.
Outside the venue, in the smoking area, a sign was posted that read something like:
"The Magnolia informs the audience that it does not take responsibility during the concert of the Dillinger Escape Plan for damages caused by them to property and/or persons."
Scary.
Around 11:30, finally, the Dillinger takes the stage, with our beloved Puccy notably wearing his classic hoodie (must be hot), which he soon discards. They kick off with a brand-new song in preview, called "Good Neighbor". Having never heard it before, I can only say that it has a nice punch to it, and that it especially has the merit of launching me from the back rows to the front rows in seconds!
The setlist is, according to them, their longest ever: a whopping 18 songs, for almost an hour and a half of music (usually, I'm told, their live shows last around 40 minutes).
After the new song, they continue with "Panasonic Youth" from Miss Machine, and the pair "Fix Your Face" / "Milk Lizard" from the latest (for now) Ire Works. And under the stage, it's already chaos, there are more people above others' heads than below at times.
And then, and then... One of the highlights of the evening: from the intro, I could already catch sight of that "Sugar Coated Sour" (from Calculating Infinity) that literally wreaked havoc under the stage (and almost made me lose a tooth, but more importantly made me retreat to the middle of the tent! :'( ), that if I had managed to keep my position I don't know what would have happened to me.
During the live, Greg even tears his shirt and throws it (lucky or unlucky? I'd say both) to the front rows, not to mention his habit of opening a water bottle, taking a sip, and throwing it into the crowd (“Very communist thing” - quote from a friend of mine); one of them even hits me on the head, something to tell the grandchildren!
The live continues with high and higher moments with songs such as "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things" (to my chagrin, the only one from the EP Irony Is A Dead Scene), "Black Bubblegum", "Sunshine The Werewolf", "Horse Hunter" and "Lurch", interspersed with two other new songs: first, one of which I have no idea what it was, second the now well-known "Farewell, Mona Lisa", well-received by the audience and even sung by many. During this a brave soul rose from the crowd and sang into Greg's microphone, who even gave him a pat of approval and a big smile like a mother to her young son ("And Greg is an excellent mom").
The evening closes with the immense "43% Burnt", and it's madness, both under and above the stage. Confusion, chaos, Puciato fused with the crowd (and he tried to walk on a few heads) and a moment later back on stage to hang from the upper barriers (where the neon tubes were also present, what a story).
But above, I said that the evening closed. Only seemingly, in fact, they come back on stage right after to play “Three More Fuckin' Songs”. One expects more chaos and... And nothing. The first of the three songs is a cover: specifically, Head Over Heels by Tears For Fears! No, not even in hardcore style, just true to the original with Puciato in a ghei vocalist version (and contrasting both his physique and the song sung just before, it made me smile quite a bit). Then the chaos really came with "Destro's Secret" and, perhaps, "The Running Board". I say perhaps because, I mean, who during a DEP concert thinks about what song they're playing at that moment? Only me, obviously.
Well, what else to say? Ben Weinman is my new god, after his pirouette on the crowd still holding his instrument and continuing to play, it couldn't be otherwise. Leaving, I also saw an ambulance, and I couldn't help but think that someone hadn't fared well. A bad way to go home.
Eight years, a full eight years to have the Dillinger Escape Plan back in Milan.
It was worth the wait.
Indeed.
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