LA DISPUTE AT THE GRANADA THEATER IN LAWRENCE, KS
On Friday, April 26th, La Dispute brought the Panorama tour to The Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas. They brought with them Slow Mass from Chicago, Illinois, and Gouge Away, and made the venue their own that night.
This lineup seemed to be perfect to make sure La Dispute fans got the best of both worlds with the opening bands, only to seem to merge those two styles in La Dispute's live performance to create an end cap to an incredible show.
Slow Mass kicked off the night with its own brand of indie-punk starting the night off with a brooding intro, created by the slow build up of instruments accompanied by vocalist Mercedes Webb that forced the audience's attention, which never faltered. Their set continued with a continuation of slow jams, shoegaze-y riffs, and the soaring vocals from Webb, leaving the audience entranced throughout their entire set.
Gouge Away were up next, and for people that hadn't listened to them prior to this show, they were in for a surprise. Gouge Away blend elements of punk and hardcore, citing influences such as Fugazi and Unwound, led by vocalist Christina Michelle. Almost instantly, they took control of the audience and made sure that no one could take their eyes off of them. Their energetic and commanding stage presence was the perfect counterpart to their pulse-heightening brand of hardcore. This was the perfect introduction for the main event of the night, La Dispute.
The entire room felt instantly more packed as soon as La Dispute were set to take the stage. They opened with 'Fulton Street I', one of the lead singles from the album. There was no worry of the audience not knowing the words to the songs, as they joined in with vocalist Jordan Dreyer as if this had been a song they had been playing for the last five years. The audience seemed to ebb and flow along with the music, as one moment they would be swaying along to the slower sections of La Dispute's music, but instantly ready to crank up the energy as they did. Dreyer had full command of the audience, exemplifying a very cathartic and emotional stage presence.
This show was definitely something truly special, opening with incredible talent in the first two bands, and ending with the almighty La Dispute. They're ready to show everyone all of the hard work they have been doing since their last album release and are proving it on stage.