Review Tue Feb 22 2011

Review: Dismemberment Plan @ Metro 2/20

By Bonnie Page

Dismemberment Plan (Photos by Katie Hovland)

"The only thing worse than bad memories/ Is no memories at all" goes the Dismemberment Plan song "Spider in the Snow". If that's how The Plan felt, then Sunday's Metro crowd would probably rephrase that lyric slightly to match their collective feeling: "The only thing worse than the breakup of your favorite mid-'90s indie band is no reunion tour". The post-punk band, known for their math-rockish arrangements, broke up in 2003 leaving many an angsty-early-adulter to find their relatable angst rock elsewhere. Now a bit older, the typical Dismemberment Plan fan, piled into the Metro Sunday night for day 2 of 2nd of the Dismemberment Plan's Chicago shows.

Interestingly, Dismemberment Plan named themselves after a phrase spoken by the insurance salesman in the movie Ground Hog Day. The Ground Hog Day tribute seems to suit the quartet's sense of humor and they manage to work it into their straight forward lyrical style the quirky and ironic (such as "Do the Standing Still" and "Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich") which were interspersed between the more emotional of their Sunday night songs. And they've always highly regarded for the goofy, feel-good energy of their live shows. Sunday night was no different.

Dismemberment Plan (Photos by Katie Hovland)

Morrison started out the night with an "I am so effen glad to be here" grin and a funny anecdote which ended with his 14 year old nephew calling him a sellout for the band's recent Jimmy Fallon appearance. Fans and uber fans alike ate it up and anxiously awaited for band members Axelson and Caddell to strap on their respective instruments (bass and guitar, respectively) and for Joe Easley to put on his the air traffic controller headphones and get behind the drum kit. With the first notes of "Spider in the Snow" had the crowd imitating Morrison's goofy grin, with the addition of nostalgic contentment.

From there The Plan launched into "Ellen and Ben", soaked up the applause after "The City Soaks", and rocked out to the sing along (or yell along, as the case may be) "What do you Want me to Say". Everyone's old favorites were touched on (including "Time Bomb", "The Other Side", "Gyroscope"). And not single person managed to standstill, and in fact flailed around to, "Do the Standing Still" and dance-inducing track "You Are Invited".

At 17 minutes 'til 10, Morrison announced "we have 17 minutes to rock" before launching into the cheeky "Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich" and the complicated arrangements and hard-edged builds of post-punk "Ok Jokes Over". Which then devolved into Morrison whipping his beard back and forth to the song's lyrics "I whip my beard back and forth". As could be expected, and anticipated by many, The Plan asked the audience on stage for the last song of the night. One über fan excitedly asked (within the span of the microphone), if he could hang out with Morrison after the show. Unphased by the negative answer he received, he proceeded to hold lighter in front of Morrison's face before being ushered off the stage by the Metro security staff. Classic.