Return of the Robot Tour - St. Petersburg
The “Return of the Robot Tour”- an assortment of the music scene's greatest and latest musically diverse acts of the year, bringing a refreshing blend of new and solidified acts our music scene has experienced.
On the edge of their album release “Pantheon”, Dance Gavin Dance set off on a full U.S. Summer Tour to give us a small taste of their future release. The “Swancore” outfit are known for their distinct sound and genre defining music that they even curated a lineup of bands that pushes the music forward to its limit. With Dwellings, Belmont, and The Home Team, the Return of the Robot Tour had an abundance of musical range and prowess that had the crowd in St. Petersburg off their feet.
Openers Dwellings drew from their smooth melodies, intricate guitar riffs, and overall command of the crowd to kick off the show. No amount of heat and humidity could compare to the stage presence and drive to set in the heat of St. Petersburg. The Sacramento natives kicked off their set with original songs such as “Pick up before you go” and “Happens all the time”, before ending their set with a cover and mix of “Clint Eastwood” from Gorillaz and their own track “Gold Leaf”.
What could be described as math rock, jazz-fusion, pop-punk, and metal brought together as one? How would one describe an act that has brought together and married many sub genres in order to bring an electrifying second act on this tour like Belmont has? It is truly incredible how Belmont over the last year and a half has risen in popularity. Having the pleasure of seeing Belmont follow up Dwellings, taking to the stage in a way that was so electrifying the crowd had no choice but to fall in love with them. The way the crowd chanted back lyrics to the pop punk powerhouses as they owned the stage at Jannus Live was nothing short of mesmerizing.
Following Belmont, we have a band that went from viral videos on TikTok to storming stages on tour for the last year, The Home Team taking the stage at Jannus Live. The quartet has coined the term of “heavy pop” music with their dance worthy tracks and hints of heavy rock in between, giving a preview of their rise to popularity through social media. There was an overwhelming response for The Home Team getting on stage causing the crowd to be insatiable before their headlining act. From a phone screen to an actual stage, the energy conveyed from the band translated smoothly, making them a crowd favorite in St. Petersburg. Leading with popular songs such as "Right Through Me” and “Brag” getting the crowd into a dance frenzy and seamlessly transitioning to “Walk This World with Me”, everyone in attendence enjoyed every minute, even leading to a proposal in the middle of their set. This carefully curated line up of acts has led up to the moment every show goer was waiting for, Dance Gavin Dance.
Dance Gavin Dance has led the post hardcore scene for the last 20 years with their distinct guitar riffs, intricate bass lines, challenging drum patterns, coining their signature “Swancore” sound named after their lead guitarist and founding member Will Swan. With the other founding members Matthew Mingus, and Jon Mess, Dance Gavin Dance have progressed these last two decades as a successful band. Even through the challenges the band has faced in the last couple of years, Dance Gavin Dance continue to prove their resilience and innovation by adopting familiar faces of Sergio Medina and Andrew Wells of Eidola. Medina has stepped up to the huge role of bassist taking over the legacy of founding member the late Tim Ferrick. Andrew Wells was always surrounding the Dance Gavin Dance camp as backing guitarist and vocals, now proving himself as frontman of the legendary band.
“Indulgence” was the word for the setlist Dance Gavin Dance provided for the St. Petersburg audience. From their upcoming album release “Pantheon” out on Sept 12 of this year, they played singles such as “Speed Demon”, “Midnight at McGuffy’s”, and “War Machine” live, marrying the new line up of the band with confidence. Regardless of changes made within, the one thing that stayed consistent with Dance Gavin Dance was catering to audiences old and new.
The Jannus Live crowd was treated to classics off of their previous albums such as the self-titled album and the popular Downtown Battle Mountain 2. The best example was taking us back to 2008 the band’s seminal tracks such as “The Robot with Human Hair Pt. 3”, “Burning Down the Nicotine Armoire”, and “Uneasy Hearts Weight the Most”. Additionally, a song that has risen again in popularity due to social media was “Blue Dream” off of “Downtown Battle Mountain 2” enticed the crowd more than they already were. What Dance Gavin Dance has proven is that every aspect of their tour included careful curation and thoughtfulness, ranging from diverse talent within their tour line up to thriving with their discography old and new. The Return of the Robot Tour is proof that Dance Gavin Dance continues to ascend as one of the most successful bands regardless of circumstance.
