La Dispute
– GORILLA, MANCHESTER –
Special night tonight. One of the most influential bands in the hardcore scene is visiting our town with a sold out show at Gorilla. We’ve had to wait more than two years to see Jordan Dreyer and his band on a Mancunian stage, and the release of their most recent album was a perfect excuse. The queue in front of the hall is a complete mix of different cultures, from emo kids to heavy metal supporters and obviously hardcore fans.
Tonight the act is opened by a couple of bands with a very different style, but nevertheless, the audience seems happy with them. The first one taking the stage is formed by 2/3 parts of La Dispute members. Under the name of Eugene Quell, these London based grunge revivalists create a unique sound which drinks from the 90’s Seattle scene with some modernist indie-pop touch.
Following the 30 minute recital from the trio, we find ourselves listening to the heavy songs of O’Brother, with the force of three guitarists as the main characters. A mixture of complex instrumentation and a highly-energetic presence on stage define their performance. Long and dark songs mainly focused on sludge patterns with a bit of an alternative rock essence on the vocals, mark the way of an O’Brother show.
Finally, La Dispute take the stage in a completely packed Gorilla waiting for the Americans to appear. The five-piece band is without a doubt one of the most atypical groups in hardcore with an experimental, spoken-word screamo offer. Endless lyrics mixed with atmospheric guitars and dense drums are the recipe for their songs. La Dispute makes music that is both artistically and technically connected to the emotions.
Introducing their latest album The Rooms of the House, tonight’s setlist is mainly focused on these songs. They start with one of the most powerful creations they have in it, ‘Hudsonville Mi 1956’, and they also encourage the audience to start singing along by playing some oldies from the acclaimed Wildlife or a few more from their first LP.
Their music expresses just regular things that could happen in our lives but in a very personal and poetic way. They’re trying to create a really intimate show tonight, and therefore they ask the people to keep their mobile phones and cameras in their pockets, an unusual atmosphere nowadays, when it seems we rather share our experiences more than just live them.
A wonderful set of 65 minutes and 16 songs of pure beauty and emotion is sealed with the final intensity of ‘King Park’ and followed by a huge round of applause. La Dispute left the boards with a big smile on their faces as a result of a great gig with very dedicated listeners. We can only hope that we won’t need to wait two years again for their next visit.
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Biken is a Spanish music blogger based in Manchester trying to discover the marvellous culture of the city and to get lost in its endless gigs agenda. By the age of 22 he parked his guitar and started to write about music instead of making it.
