The Dillinger Escape Plan played their first reunion show at the No Values festival in Pomona, CA on June 8. The show was The Dillinger Escape Plan‘s first with original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis since 2001 and featured material from the band’s 1997 self-titled and 1998 Under the Running Board EPs, as well as their 1999 debut Calculating Infinity. As an added bonus, the band also played two covers featuring ex-Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and Suicidal Tendencies‘ Mike Muir.
Now in a post, The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman took a moment to thank his bandmates – past and present – for making the band what it is, and for making this comeback possible. The shout out is notable for mentioning former vocalist Greg Puciato, who has since moved on with his new band Better Lovers.
“My lady put some fun footage together from our weekend, and all i can say is Wow! There are no words that can express how grateful I am for the opportunity to play these special throwback shows with some of my former Dillinger Escape Plan alumni besties, and still have the opportunity to get #cyco with Suicidal Tendencies.
“I really need to thank Dimitri Minakakis, Liam Wilson, Billy Rymer, James Love, for having me. I’m also super grateful for Greg Puciato and the other Dillinger family members for their dedication in helping build this band into what it is for so many years following #calculatinginfinity. If it were not for him and the other people in the DEP fam, I would have never been able to see my friend Dimitri play in front of this many people. It’s super cool to experience after all these years.
“Thanks to my heros Mike Muir and Jello Biafra for joining us on stage. Definitely a pinch myself moment.
“Special thank you to our crew, who we share with ST, for being serious warriors. We were stuck in fest traffic and literally jumped on stage, and I can’t believe how these bad asses made it happen under the circumstances. Thank you @deathtotravis @melisssawalton @chris.waiau @coreykoniz and more thank yous in the comments below.”
Puciato recently voiced his opinion on the current shows via an interview with Metal Hammer, saying he’s not against them happening without him.
“It doesn’t bother me at all. When people ask me that, as if I’m gonna be bummed, I’m, like, why would I be bummed? I’m not on the record. To me, if the band was still a band, and some of those guys, obviously [original members Brian] Benoit [rhythm guitar], [Chris] Pennie [drums] and Adam [Doll, bass] aren’t [part of the reunion shows], but if, if Dimitri and Ben were, like, ‘Hey, we wanna do some ‘Calculating Infinity‘ shows, what am I gonna do? Be, like, ‘No!’ That doesn’t make any sense. I wasn’t on the record.”
“So, I hope they’re wildly successful with it, and I hope that it does a lot of good for them — I hope it makes them feel good personally, those two. ‘Cause, obviously, Liam and Billy were not on that record, but the ending of them before I joined, I don’t think it was — it wasn’t fulfilling. It wasn’t a fulfilling closure. It wasn’t exactly on everybody’s terms involved. So I think them being able to go back and do this and celebrate what is non-arguably a fucking genre-changing milestone record that many bands would not exist if it wasn’t for. They should play everywhere. They should come to London, they should go play festivals, they should do everything. Like I said, I’m all for it, man.”
The Dillinger Escape Plan‘s upcoming tour dates are as follows.
6/21 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount (w/ Car Bomb & Candy)
6/22 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount (w/ The Callous Daoboys & Deadguy)
6/23 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount (w/ Deadguy, Candy, Car Bomb & The Callous Daoboys)
8/6 Lokeren, BEL – Lokerse Feesten
8/24 Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed Outdoors (w/ The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die & No Men)
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