Dance Gavin Dance + Good Tiger @ o2 institute 3, 5th November 2016
“Remember, remember the 5th of November…” While most people are heading out for a night of bonfires and fireworks, myself and many others are heading to the o2 Institute for the sold out date of the Dance Gavin Dance 10 Year Anniversary Tour. It’s not very often the guys from Dance Gavin Dance grace the UK for a tour and this one is set to be special. Celebrating the bands 10 year anniversary and bringing with them previous vocalist Kurt Travis and the famous/infamous Jonny Craig along with them. This tour comes in support of their 7th album Mothership, released early October. This album is front man Tillian Pearson’s third album with the band and has been met with great success, outselling all previous albums and reaching No.2 on the Hard Music Billboard chart. Without a doubt this album has cemented Tillian’s role in Dance Gavin Dance as a great permanent fixture.
Kurt Travis was first on, performing an acoustic solo set with his voice mellow and relaxing and, at times, teasing us with his strong vocals that we’ll hear more of later when he joins Dance Gavin Dance. Ending his set on 2:45 in the morning, paying tribute to Elliot Smith, beautiful way to end Next, to the crowds delight was Jonny Craig. I have to admit I was a bit anxious, following Jonny Craig’s history, he’s had more than his fair share of tragedy and hard times, but tonight he did the crowd and himself proud. He was accompanied by Kurt Travis playing guitar, clear there’s no hard feelings between them, laughing and joking and hugging each other. Starting on Children of Divorce, Jonny’s voice shone through, complimenting the mellow acoustic guitar, the crowd were with him from the get-go. His voice comes across so effortless and natural, and he knows it. It’s clear he loves the crowd, and it’s like there’s an unstated acknowledgement that we all know his misfortunes and mishaps but we’re here to hear him sing and support him. Ending his set on a Justin Timberlake cover, Cry Me a River was just perfection, holding incredible notes and bowing off the stage to the crowd cheering his name.
Next and final support of the night are Good Tiger. Largely considered a super group Good Tiger is made up of past members of such bands as British tech band The Safety Fire, My Project Ghost and Sky Eats Airplane. Coming onto the stage with a burst of energy, a nice contrast from the acoustic solo sets, getting us warmed us for the chaotic genius of Dance Gavin Dance. Elliot Coleman’s clean vocals and raspy screams cut through the electric guitar riffs, the drummer clearly in a world of his own and loving it. Not unlike Dance Gavin Dance, this band have a certain controlled chaos about them, with influences from all prior bands clashing together yet complimenting each other to create this new, aggressive and punchy yet fun and upbeat sound. At times the sound seemed a fall a bit flat, leaving the vocals a bit drowned out but that might have been a venue problem rather than a performance issue.
With everyone around pumped and ready, Dance Gavin Dance made their way on stage with no special entrance, they knew why they were here and they wanted to put on a great show. Hitting off the night with Chuck vs. The Giant Tortoise, the first track off Mothership, it got off to a powerful start, Will Swans hypnotising guitar riffs accompanied by Tillian’s clear vocals. Jon Mess was on form, being known for his energy and great performances, his screams tearing through with such force. Each member was completely lost, loving what they were doing, entranced in the music. Playing a good amount of songs from Tillian’s albums the atmosphere was electric and before we knew it, it was time for Kurt to join his old band mates on stage. Smiles all around as he started with Tree Village from his earlier album Happiness, he doesn’t try to be something he’s not, he puts his spin on Dance Gavin Dance. He sings with such power and passion with everyone singing along with him, it’s a privilege to see him perform. Again, quickly it was too soon to say bye to Kurt, but enter for the second time, Jonny Craig, giving Kurt hugs along with the rest of the band, you can tell he’s grateful to be there.
Will Swan starts the opening of Spooks, and Jonny let’s out his signature moan into song before Jon Mess kicks in again, such a glorious clash of harsh screams with soulful singing. My only issue with tonight is there’s no real sense of specialness to this event, this is their 10 year anniversary, yet Tillian barely spoke two words to the crowd. It was Kurt Travis that first mentioned the anniversary, thanking the crowd. Kurt was genuinely so appreciative of everyone he waited by the exit to thank everyone personally. Jonny Craig, maybe surprising given the fact he’s known to be less than sober at many concerts, seems calm, noticeably happy and excited to be there and so grateful for the crowd, and it’s clear the crowd love him.
Ending the main set with And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman, it’s unclear why they decided to end with a Jonny Craig song, though the crowd loved it. Giving Jonny his time to shine, diving into the crowd, fully immersing himself in their appreciation and adoration, his voice, the strongest anyone could have hoped for. Time for a quick break and the “ONE MORE SONG” chant we all know too well and then they came back on stage, Tillian joined with both Kurt and Jonny to perform Uneasy Hearts Weigh The Most together. Each of their voices perfectly complimenting the next whilst giving each time to own the song for themselves. With the atmosphere buzzing and everyone singing along, it was over before we knew it and it came to the last song of the night. Ending on We Own The Night, a great wrap up, for sure, Dance Gavin Dance entirely owned that night.
Dance Gavin Dance Setlist:
Chucky vs. The Giant Tortoise
Stroke God Millionaire
On The Run
Strawberry Swisger Pt.3
Betrayed By The Game
Tree Village
Carl Barker
Alex English
Spooks
Lemon Meringue Tie
And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman.
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Uneasy Hearts Weigh The Most
We Own The Night
Review: Jordan Wynn
Photographs: Chris Bowley