La Dispute

The line outside for the La Dispute show in Dallas may have seemed homogeneous-white suburban assholes. But looks can be deceiving, for La Dispute has a special kind of mass appeal. Not in the Pop 40 sense, but in the underground sense. La Dispute appeals to Bring Me The Horizon and Story So Far fans as well as Iceage and Death Grips fans. Its storytelling, compelling song structures and Jordan Dryer's impassioned vocals titillate the senses, making hairs stand on end. And that was no different at this show. First off though, I want to compliment Envy, who had an amazing performance. I guarantee they gained a ton of new fans there. But as I was saying, this concert was a religious experience. Jordan mentioned in-between songs that he was raised in the Church, but has never been a believer. He said that he found religion in music. And that's exactly how I would characterize this show. The energy was palpable, and could be compared to religious fervor. As far as their set list, it contained a somewhat even mix of songs from all three of their LPs, with songs from their first LP being whipped out the least. La Dispute's "Free Bird" is King Park from the album Wildlife, and it was played very early in the set, setting a bar for the energy of the rest of the show. I was told afterward by a friend that they had been kicked in the face as soon as Jordan began screaming "can I still get into heaven if I kill myself"? Jordan's interaction with the audience was considerable. He would periodically ask if everybody was okay, and encouraged us to help anybody in the crowd who was struggling. He also asked us to refrain from using our phones to film or take pictures of the show, a rule which I followed dutifully. I usually only take a couple pictures for posterity's sake anyway, and I never try to film concerts. It is important to experience things in the moment. But trust me, not everyone followed Jordan's rule. Back to the performance, the band never lost energy as they jammed out one song after another. Jordan was losing breath sometimes, but besides that, he kept screaming his poetry very urgently. It's bizarre to see people screaming along to a song about a cancer-stricken child like it's a song about fast cars in Los Angeles, but that's what makes La Dispute so enthralling. We join together to acknowledge humanity's trials and tribulations in cathartic ecstasy. La Dispute did give us a heaping helping of encore, playing two more cuts once they came back out. All in all, La Dispute's performance on November 8, 2016 at The Door in Dallas, Texas was a rich experience, probably the second best show I've ever seen. I also wanna compliment the selection of merch, which included numerous vinyls, shirts, hoodies and mugs. I got a baseball shirt which I wish I could wear everyday. Long Live La Dispute.

La Dispute have a strange effect on people. They’re a heavy band. Post-hardcore? Spoken word? Tambourine? Yep. Yet, everyone loves it. So much so that they’re playing this year’s NME/Radio 1 stage at Reading & Leeds. It’s bizarre to see a band from the punk sub-genres gracing the stage; especially one who, on paper, are so unaccessible.
But, when you see them live, it all makes sense. As Jordan Dreyer stumbles across the stage; screaming, singing and speaking - sometimes all at once, the entire crowd is always transfixed.
The guitar work is always flawless live, providing the band’s unique melodies while the drumming is consistent and exciting. They succeed in crossing the genres because they pay no attention to genres. The songs are poppy and heavy at the same time.
When tracks like “Said the King to the River” and “Andria” come out, the crowd goes wild. Pushing, shoving, screaming as loud as is humanly possible. Yet, none of this compares to the final section of “King Park” which manages to cause riot-like movement in the audience. The band are unique, even for a genre like post-hardcore, and manage to pull everyone in. With career-spanning setlist with all the fan-favourites, spectacular musicianship and amazing crowd interaction; there’s not much which comes close to a La Dispute show.

Despite having a name of elegance, the music that La Dispute makes is powerful grunge/punk. The surprising thing about their music is despite its basement qualities, it appears to have universal effect and sees the band playing the Radio 1/NME stage at this year's Reading Festival.

A feat the band would have not perhaps expected to achieve when they started out in 2004 playing the circuit and achieving cult-like status. The way in which they perform has not changed since these first few gigs, there is still an emphasis on post-hardcore yet the crowds are happy to mosh and jostle along to the snarling guitar riffs of 'Stay Happy There'. The band quickly gives the UK crowd a masterclass in what they do and their impressive performance appears to win over the masses as the whole tent has their hands raised high by the finale of 'Extraordinary Dinner Party'. La Dispute clearly has some new found followers.

I have been waiting a very very very long time to see La Dispute and the week of the concert I got extremely sick and Friday the 13th came along and it was breaking my heart because I was coming to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be able to attend the concert but I pulled all my energy and force into going because there was no way I was missing out. So I went that night and unfortunately doing the second band's set, Envy, I got really light headed and I couldn't stand in the crowd so I sat down during their set but their music was beautiful. La Dispute then came along and started playing their first song and I was so happy I couldn't believe I was listening to them play live it was absolutely beautiful. I also couldn't hold myself back so I went into the pit and it was so amazing, I sang my heart out. I thank them for coming to LA and giving us an amazing show.

La dispute was AMAZING! Jordan was very engaged with the crowd and jumped off the stage into the audience a few times. After their performance I went to buy merchandise and Jordan was just hanging out by the merchandise! We talked for a bit and then I got an autograph and picture with him. He was such a down to earth and nice guy, he seemed genuinely excited to meet his fans! I will absolutely be going to another concert in the future!

Was at the Koko in London. Most amazing support bands to start with two inch astrounaut, doomsquad and fu**ed up. Really sick support bands.

La dispute come on the whole crowd goes wild and they start off with King Park. Everyone is singing along to the lyrics. Could not believe the atmosphere of thir whole concert.

Need to see them again.

Recommend seeing, one of the best gigs I have ever been to.

Amazing as always! La Dispute never let's me down. Their sets are always full of life and passion and very fine musicians. They're truly talented. They played a beautiful set that was just long enough and had great stage presence and really engaged with the audience. It was a nice surprise to see some surprise instrumentalists on stage! Overall a great time and really awesome merch available

This was my first time seeing La dispute live. It was amazing! The team up of them and touche amore was simply mind blowing. The metro has always been one of my favorite venues. La dispute had high energy and great sound. They were incredibly tight on stage. Crowd interaction from the front man was awesome. If you haven't seen them live,I highly recommend doing so

Corey Stroffolino is a god.
Venue was decent, sound was good, merch people were super friendly, la dispute killed it.
Jordan Dreyer is carrying the punk scene through some of its listeners’ darkest days with his songwriting, performances, and truly heartfelt moments in which he challenges us all to create the safe environment we all wish to live in.

This show was amazing. After waiting 4 years to finally see them as I was under age and they rarely peek their heads into my neck of the woods, I was not disappointed! The music was way better live than recorded, the crowd participated heavily during the emotional bits of songs. Overall one of my favorite bands live.