Detroit, MI // September 25, 2021
On April 13, 2020 Dance Gavin Dance (DGD) was set to rock the packed Masonic Temple but, as we all know, that didn’t come to fruition. Instead, Detroit had to wait almost a year and a half for the return of Dance Gavin Dance. After a year and a half of waiting, the road back to touring for DGD didn’t go off as planned.
Band members Tilian and Jon missed shows due to testing positive for Covid-19. The Detroit show at the Masonic Temple was the first time all the band members were healthy but turns out this will also be their last time for this tour.
The night started off hot thanks to performances by Wolf & Bear, Eidola, Veil of Maya, and Polyphia. The crowd went wild when the lights went out and DGD started to play, “Prisoner” from their 2020 album, Afterburner. From the beginning things started off kind of rocky. It was Jon’s first show since testing positive for Covid and there were signs of rust, but he got better as the show went on. The same could not be said, however, about the drummer Matt Mingus. Things really turned for the worse after only the third song of the set, “Son of Robot,” when Matt was coming in late and missing beats. At first I thought it must be due to technical difficulties because knowing how professional and precise Matt is it couldn’t have been his fault but this was not the case.
Towards the end of the song Tilian can be seen visibly upset as he ended up punching a water bottle and slamming a mic stand on the floor before saying, “this is un-f***ing believable guys, our drummer can’t play.” After they concluded playing “Son of Robot,” Matt was kicked off stage and drum tech, Dakota Sammons, filled in to finish the rest of the set.
Even though it started off rocky, the band powered through the setback and managed to give Detroit a solid show. The setlist for this tour was filled with banger after banger, with the show ending with crowd favorite “Inspire the Liars.” People around me were having fun and shouting every clean and unclean vocals back at the band. At the end of the day, Detroit really just wanted to rock to DGD after one and a half years of waiting.
A few days after the show it was announced that Matt Mingus will be entering rehab and will not be joining the band for the rest of the tour. Speaking of behalf of DGD fans, we just wish the best for Matt and hope he gets through this stronger on the other side.
To keep up to date with the band and what cities they are playing at, check out their websites
DANCE GAVIN DANCE
Website: www.dancegavindanceband.com
Instagram: instagram.com/dancegavindance
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DanceGavinDance
Twitter: twitter.com/DGDtheband
Written by: Paul John Farinas, Sonic Live Media