The Dismemberment Plan - The Black Cat, Washington DC, U.S.A. - 26&27/4/07
5/5
By: Various Scribes
As our plane broke through the overcast skies of Washington, a wave of fear came over us; we had travelled 5000 miles to see a band that hadn't played a gig for over four years. What if their playing wasn't what it used to be? What if those long, morose years without the 'Plan had caused Joe to forget how to play 'Girl 'O' Clock'? Could the greatest post-punk, post-hardcore, post-whatthef**kwasthatband of the 90s and early 00s, The Dismemberment Plan, reproduce their famed live act after such a long stay of absence?
The shows were held at the infamous Black Cat; a small, tightly run venue to the north of central Washington. On both nights, as the numbers began to roll into the dingy bar on the bottom floor, a momentous sense of anticipation flooded the venue. There aren't many other bands that inspire such horrendous fanboyishness amongst their listeners, and sure enough, although we seemed to be the only well mannered Brits in the place, 'Plan fans had come from Kentucky to Seattle to watch Travis & co. rip through their assortment of spazrock classics.
The opening acts both nights were passable at best with the exception of Beauty Pill who, with two drummers and a rather Yoshimi-esque lead singer, marvellously found their sonic niche somewhere in between The Go! Team, Boredoms and Fugazi. That being said, it was clear who the nights were really about; the hungering fans seemed less interested in the support acts and more interested in whether Travis would bust out the trombone for 'One Too Many Blows To The Head'.
The gigs were put on to raise funds for Cal Robbins, son of ex-Jawbox front man J.Robbins. Recently he's been diagnosed with a rare motor neurone disease called SMA which, in short, is about as horrible as any genetic syndrome one can be born with. The Dismemberment Plan agreed to do these two gigs in an effort to help cover Cal's huge medical bill for the rest of his life. The baying crowd fell silent while J. gave a short, emotional talk about his son and the charity that has been set up in Cal's name, before resuming a deafening roar of appreciation as the band were ushered on stage.
"Hi we're The Dismemberment Plan from Washington D.C." Travis said with a wry smile and a glint in his eye before launching into the manic opening bars of 'Doing The Standing Still' with visible severity. 'The crowd were already going ape shit but when the thudding drums of 'What Do You Want Me To Say?' crashed in, the night moved into overdrive; arms and legs were everywhere and post-collegiates where screaming back every single lyric at full reach.
Past 'What Do You Want Me To Say?', the gig is a blur of the best memories. Screaming guitars & pseudo-Far Eastern samples from 'Face Of The Earth', pummelled bodies during the frenetic two minutes of the wonderfully off-kilter 'The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich' and the gently bruising synths and melancholic ska swing of 'Spider In The Snow' come to mind...
Travis is a fantastic frontman, managing to harness and recycle the extreme amounts of energy coming from the crowd with tasteful wit, whilst swinging his hips and flashing shit-eating grins. When he explaining that there was unlikely to be a fully fledged reunion, a member of the audience shouted that 'This is unacceptable!', to which Travis cheerfully countered 'Says the dude in the front row of the reunion show!'.
Right in the middle of the set, The 'Plan produced the ultimate crowd pleasing one-two of 'Time Bomb' and 'The City'. Both songs, with their kinetic drumming, swirling synth lines, wonderful lyrics and stunning climaxes are firmly established as their tour de force numbers and it was easy to see why. 'The City', in particular, was jarringly beautiful in live form; Axelson's heady moogs driving Morrison's laments ("this is where I live but I've never been less at home" ) to unparalleled levels of ecstatic release.
Whilst 'The City' may be their best song, there was no doubt which one was most anticipated. Ask any 'Plan fan the one that would translate best to a live setting and no doubt they will say 'Girl 'O' Clock'. Built around the powerhouse drumming of Joe Easley and the undulating rhythms of Axelson's keys, it morphs from shattering jungle throw down to jangly pop punk with breathless ease and in 1999, out nu-raved nu-rave. Live it was no let down; the whole crowd joining in with Travis's stuttering, sexually frustrated lyrics with unprecedented glee.
The first portion of the show finished with the uncontrollably groovtastic philosophical ruminations of personal favourite 'Back & Forth' and the insanely anthemic 'Onwards Fat Girl'. Of course that wasn't to be all for the night and shortly Travis came back out and started those opening chords to 'The Ice Of Boston'. Within seconds we found ourselves on stage, jammed in with every fan, miming someone pouring champagne over their heads, naked, on a lonely New Years Eve. By the time everyone was singing 'Time time tiiiime', there were clearly one or two overwhelmed, and no doubt exhausted faces in the throng.
As we slipped back into the crowd the 'Plan launched into the whiplash post-punk of 'Bra' and again we were dancing like loons. Polishing off the evening with the sultry disco-funk of 'Ellen & Ben', the wall-of-noise crescendos of 'OK Jokes Over', the live drum 'n' bass ferocity of 'Otherside' and ill-forgotten classic 'Rusty' ended perhaps the greatest concert of our lives.
Having stuck around at the end to chat with the band (Eric: "up Fulham!"), we gathered that they were somewhat bemused by such adoration from their fans. With members pursuing non-musical projects (Axleson is a teacher, Easley a trainee space engineer), it seems that the Dismemberment Plan has had its day. They may well not play again for another four years, if ever, although one thing is for sure: if more sets of shows are announced, be quick to be there, because bands this innovative, this energetic and this wonderful are by essence rare and fleeting, and should be enjoyed whenever the opportunity surfaces.
Report by Jamie Powell with Alex Pyper
All photographs Copyright Dots, Lines and Polygons 2007
To donate to the Cal Robbins fund via PayPal, click HERE.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment