Concert Review + Photos: Dance Gavin Dance’s Robot With Human Hair vs Chonzilla Tour

Photos and words by Samantha Skapin

I had a chance to check out Dance Gavin Dance at their sold out Columbus stop of the Robot With Human Hair vs Chonzilla Tour at Park Street Saloon. This lineup was STACKED with Vasudeva, Eidola, and Chon opening for them.

First up was Vasudeva, an instrumental band from New Jersey. Personally, this was my first time hearing about these guys, but I definitely left a fan. Their sound was pretty similar to This Town Needs Guns (minus the vocals) which was an awesome dynamic compared to Chon (another instrumental band) on the tour. The math rock band seemed to really resonate with the crowd as well which was great to see.  Their set was on the shorter side as expected, but were sure to play one of their most popular songs, “Stop Making Yourself Miserable” off of their 2013 release Life in Cycles. If you haven’t heard of Vasudeva, I would definitely recommend checking them out if your into math rock or instrumental bands such as Chon. Be sure to check out their newest single “Take Away” as well!

Next to play was Eidola. Now, I’ve been a fan of these guys for awhile now, seeing as their 2015 release Degeneraterra was one of my favorite albums of that year. That being said, I was super excited to finally see them live. Touring guitarist and vocalist of Dance Gavin Dance, Andrew Michael Wells, takes lead vocals in this band and he sounds absolutely incredible live. His voice, as well as the rest of the band including guitarist and vocalist Brandon Bascom, sounds nearly identical to the album. They played a lot off of Degeneraterra, such as “Divide” and “Contra: Second Temple“, which I was super pumped to hear live. These guys are definitely worth a listen, so if you’re planning on catching this tour, make sure to get there early to check them out!

Chon was up next, and the crowd seemed super excited for this set of the night. I’ve seen Chon a couple of times now, and I can tell you they NEVER disappoint. They started off with their song “Splash” off of their 2015 release Grow. These guys, consisting of mostly Camarena brothers, are honestly some of the best musicians I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. Mario Camarena plays his Ibanez so effortlessly it is honestly such a joy to watch. They played a good mix of songs from both Grow and their EP Newborn Son, until a very special guest made an appearance to play with the band. At this point, the crowd literally LOST IT when Thomas Erak (of The Fall of Troy) came out to sing and play guitar on one of the few songs containing vocals, “Can’t Wait”. Following “Can’t Wait”, they finished off their set with The Fall of Troy’s infamous song, “FCP Remix“. Their whole set was incredible, and with the added bonus of Thomas Erak playing with them, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Be sure to check these guys out if you haven’t yet, and listen to their newest release Grow!

 Last to play was Dance Gavin Dance, which everyone was pumped for. This was my third time seeing these guys, and they always put on a great show. They started the set off with “Open Your Eyes and Look North” of their first album, Downtown Battle Mountain. It’s such a treat to see vocalist Tilian Pearson perform these older songs and see the unique and personal spin he puts on them. The packed room became immediately ROWDY for these guys with crowd surfing and stage dives all around. These guys are always so tight live and Tilian has to be one of the most impressive live vocalists I’ve ever seen with the range he has. They played a good chunk of the setlist off of their newest album Mothership, but the set was definitely well balanced with songs from their previous albums such as “On The Run” off of Instant Gratification, and “Me And Zoloft Get Along Just Fine” off of their self titled. They ended their set with “Inspire The Liars” (one of my favorites off of Mothership) and the crowd absolutely went insane. Between Tilian and Jon Mess’ insane vocals and Will Swans’ funky guitar parts, you can’t really go wrong with this current lineup of Dance Gavin Dance. If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard Mothership yet, check it out because you’ll be absolutely blown away.

 

 

 

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