Metal heavyweights Mastodon kicked off week 4 of their nationwide tour featuring Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang last Sunday with a performance at DC’s 9:30 club. The sold out show saw a line of fans wrap around the block, as this three-piece juggernaut of a tour package had absolutely no weak cogs with 3 bands that no one would have been ok missing.
Blow The Scene photographer Bora Chung and myself, got to the show a few hours early and met up with longtime Dillinger Escape Plan bassist Liam Wilson for a video interview that is featured below. Excitement was in the air as fans were already starting to gather a good three and half hours before showtime- something you don’t see often, especially in 40 degree weather, but with such a killer line-up I suppose this is to be expected.
Wilson was in high spirits along with his partner and tour manager Jessica Curreri. And why not? The band has seen a whirlwind year supporting such bands as Deftones and of course Mastodon, as their uncompromisingly brutal blend of mathy hardcore punk and metal has continued to spread across the globe. With last year’s release of the band’s fourth studio album Option Paralysis, Dillinger Escape Plan also launched their own record label imprint Party Smasher. The release of Option Paralysis would see the band join forces with French label Season of Mist to deliver an array of package deals and pre-order goodies that fans devoured with reckless abandon making an impressive #78 ranking on the Billboard 200 .
DEP is one band that continues to beat the odds- delivering a sound that is far from commercial (being that it is both intelligent and brutal)- the band has seen a level of success that escapes most of their musical peers, even those with the backing of major labels. Now, over ten years deep in the game, Wilson touched on this success, his current rig, and much more in the video interview below.
We had originally planned to meet up Portland’s Red Fang before the show as well, but do an historic amount of Thanksgiving weekend traffic (which Bora and I had the displeasure of sitting through on our 4 1/2 hour journey from Philly) and a fender bender, as Red Fang‘s trailer was rear-ended- we had to catch up with the 3-piece rock outfit following their performance as they slid in just in time to open the show. Red Fang are currently supporting their most recent full-length, Murder The Mountains, which we reviewed in detail prior to it’s release on Relapse Records last Spring.
Always full of lighthearted energy, Red Fang drummer John Sherman and bassist Aaron Beam touch on their current release and future plans as the band is keeping the pedal to floor with a plethora of new tours slated for 2012, as they try to find time to write an new album without being shunned by their friends an family with a tour schedule that leaves time for little else.
It goes without saying- all of the bands tore through sets that saw DC fans erupt into pits of frenetic energy and put wide smiles on faces of those in the balcony.
We are very pleased to offer you a full-feature photo section on all three bands by the über talented Bora Chung of Bora Chung Photography. So without further ado, here is the show in pictures.
All Pictures and Video by Bora Chung.
Words and Interviews by Joshua T. Cohen.
Dillinger Escape Plan Interview with Bassist Liam Wilson
Red Fang Interview with John Sherman and Aaron Beam
Photo Galleries
Red Fang
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