Sunday night was a special night in Dallas, Texas as two legendary bands joined forces and came rolling into town. Headliner, La Dispute was joined by Touché Amoré with support from Empath. La Dispute touring with Touché Amoré made Emo dreams from the early 2010’s a reality. Despite the odd venue choice of the Granada Theater, this was a great show.
Kicking things off promptly at 8pm was the noise-punk band Empath. Although their style of music is vastly different from the two headliners, they still seemed to mesh well and keep the crowd entertained. Their sound was chaotic, yet cohesive with some pretty great punk vocals. By the end of their set they had the entirety of the front of the pit area moving and grooving along with them.
Just before 9pm, post-hardcore legends, Touché Amoré took the stage. All smiles coming from frontman Jeremy Bolm as he looked out to see so many fans gathering and cheering for his band. That smile kept coming back after each song. Their music was received so well from the crowd, everyone was singing along and fighting for a spot in the front of the pit. They played so many great songs such as “~,” “Flowers and You,” “Pathfinder,” “Rapture,” and “Green.” Their setlist was absolutely stacked. It was non-stop action throughout the whole set, especially when La Dispute frontman, Jordan Deyer, joined Bolm on stage to sing a couple songs. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the opportunity to see this band live, but I’m so happy that I did. It was one of the best live sets I’ve seen.
Somehow even more people managed to squeeze in the front of the pit as the anticipation for La Dispute’s set grew. Nearing 10pm, the house lights dimmed for the final time that night and La Dispute, flushed out in a full band, took the stage. Seeing this band live really shows you why people absolutely love this band. They performed so flawlessly and passionately. They didn’t skip a beat or lay down on the intensity the entire way through the set; again, especially when Bolm joined in on the fun and singing a couple La Dispute songs with Deyer. La Dispute’s music is so beautiful and complex, it compliments Jordan Deyer’s spoken word lyrics so well. Their set comprised pretty much half of their newest record, Panorama, and half from previous records. I missed them last time they came through Dallas, so I’m glad I got the opportunity to catch them this time, especially with this awesome line up.
– Lauren Frederick
