Dance Gavin Dance, Live at the Crystal Ballroom
The first time I saw Dance Gavin Dance live was after they released their third full length studio album, Happiness in 2009. An album with tones of focus, and compelling vocal melodies that had everyone dancing.
To say that Dance Gavin Dance has evolved in the passed 9 years would be an understatment. The collectives eighth studio album, Artificial Selection was released this year.
Part of Underoath’s Erase Me Tour, DGD shared their new unique blend of experimental rock and funk rock, a divergence from their previous accustomed post-hardcore sound.
Tilian Pearson (clean vocals) and Jon Mess (unclean vocals) brought an enormous amount of energy to the stage. Pearson, owning the stage with his dance moves and Mess being in total sync with the crowd. The energy vibrating from the stage created a forcefield of atmosphere, and the crowd reverberated back becoming part of the show.
Each member seemed to naturally lose themselves while playing, and I was inspired. I wasn’t expecting to lose myself in the beautiful melody variations and the solid collaborative instrumentals. watching their set unfold Influenced me to want to create something forward and raw like I had been experiencing.
The nature of Dance Gavin Dance’s performance is always impressive, but experiencing the quality of their new complex arrangements of melody coincide with the unique blend of prog rhythms and seamless post-hardcore riffs were spectacular.
Photos by Karlee Montgomery and Moriah Yex