Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Wednesday July 3, 2013 :
There was already a large crowd for Pianos Become The Teeth at the Cambridge Hotel before they began playing. The post-hardcore band is a perfect match for headliners La Dispute – some fans would say it’s about time too. Both Kyle Durfey and La Dispute’s Jordan Dreyer poetically captivate their audiences on top of a chaotic yet enchanting composition of progressive rock. Pianos Become The Teeth gave us a nice dose of experimental ambience as well as heavier melodic sound with a selection of songs from their two albums.
One thing worth mentioning was the sound, which was set up unexpectedly well. Presumably, Dreyer’s voice would be either too drowned out by the emphatic musical component to hear properly or so loud that it would change the balance and dynamic of each song. This was not the case, the vocals were so nicely synced that it acted as an instrument in itself.
La Dispute began with ‘A Letter’, one of the four manic monologues on Wildlife. The audience swayed their heads to the familiar spoken/singing style that sets the band apart from a lot of other modern hardcore music. Known for their noticeably unusual time signatures and passionate delivery, the Michigan outfit compels more energy into the pit with every distorted note and every dark lyric delivered by Dreyer.
After the recognisable opening of ‘Andria’, and the words, “You still cross my mind from time to time…”, Dreyer was not singing alone. It seemed as though every person knew every single word to that song, after which the pit began chanting instantly for one more. They gave us two more tunes, another short story monologue called ‘A Broken Jar’ and the lurid shooting scene of ‘King Park’, after which the audience was still hungry for more. La Dispute play their shows so cohesively and with such vigour and they are only going to get better.
Reviewer: Jamie Nelson
Photographer: Joe Andersons
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezcm3DfbD8g