The crowd was packed wall to wall on October 14th over at Wearhouse Live. From the verified Twitter account @DanceGavinDance they wrote this from the day before “Thank you Dallas! We always love being in Texas. Houston, are you ready for your back to back shows?”. The anticipation that flooded the floors of the Warehouse Live venue could be felt beneath your feet as you walked in. Fans huddled together for group photos before the show began to start, quickly turning towards the stage once the lights dropped. The stage set had the perfect spooky touch with orange skulls with glowing eyes. The backdrop was a solid giant tapestry of Dance Gavin Dance’s cover art for their newest album “Afterburner”. This will be the bands 9th studio album to release since 2005.
“Houston Texas how you doing?” Vocalist Tilian Pearson asked. He was answered back by a thundering Houston crowd. “Prisoner” started off the night with bass that began to vibrate though your feet, up your spine and into your hands. Just as the set started a single drink flew up from the crowd splashing a couple of the photographers and fans who were closer to the main stage. Tilian would come back to the mic after the song to address the can being thrown. He stated “99% of you are cool…to who threw the beer can, You suck…You just hit someone in the back of the head…F*ck you. Don’t do that.” The crowd cheer to show solidarity. A foundation of respect was laid down. No one was going to let anything stop the good time. The Houston fans had waited long enough to see their favorite band. Especially since Dance Gavin Dance was originally scheduled to come in March 2021 to perform. The band had to pushed back their tour until now.
With everyone on the same page of what type of night this was going to be the middle section of the crowd started to form their own sub-group. This was the section that came wearing their tennis shoes with the laces tied. You could just feel that this is where all the moshing was going to be. “Head Hunter” a 2019 single, brought back the electric energy. On stage the lights were a captivating dance of colors beaming between each member. Jon Mess showed off some dance moves of his own. The elevated energy invited crowd surfing from all corners of the room. Legs, arms, and a few ponytails could be seen raised high above the rest. Hit tracks like “Son of Robot” and “Lyrics lie” played with only brief pauses between. This set was smooth in its transitions from one song to the next. One woman could be seen leaning over above the crowd headbanging for the entire 3 minutes and 55 seconds of “Chucky vs. The Tortoise.” Incredible! A 2007 flashback “Lemon Meringue Tie” started and Tilien made his way center stage. With a simple point and motion of his finger the middle of the crowd started to swirl into a circle of elbows thrashing, stomping and moshing.
Not one glass, can or bottle was thrown for the rest of the night. From the stage to the door the floor had turned into a vortex you couldn’t escape. ”Strawberry’s Wake” and other songs like “Betrayed” had yours eyes glues the stage. The flare of the guitar and the boom of the drums, Tilian and Jon’s hip sways. These are just a few of the many aspects that kept you drawn in. Jon Mess screams live are far more impressive than what you can even imagine. The entire band played their heart out for Houston. ”You guys are real! Thank you!” shouted vocalist T.Pearson.
Before the last song played. Dance Gavin Dance closed the night in an encore. “Houston thank you again, you’ve been awesome” Tilian shouted one last time before walking off stage. This wasn’t a baseball game, no one was seen leaving early to beat traffic. Dance Gavin Dance put on an incredible performance. Catch me at the next show!
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