All Photos by Kyle Dehn
Have you ever gone to a show and realized what you’re witnessing is pure greatness? No really, think about it for a second. When was the last time you went to a show and saw a band perform at their highest peak?
For us, it was last week watching Dance Gavin Dance completely crush on their headlining Artificial Selection tour.
Fresh off their first-ever Swanfest festival (which, we should note, sold out with over 7,500 people in attendance), the Rise Records veterans hit the Van Buren in Phoenix, AZ and totally demolished the place. From their pit-starting opener “Son Of Robot” to their newest track “Head Hunter” and concluding with their career-spanning single “Evaporate,” Will Swan, Jon Mess, Matt Mingus, Tilian Pearson, Tim Feerick, and Andrew Wells were on another level this 15-year-fan has yet to experience.
Now, we’d be remiss not to mention the other amazing bands performing that evening. Opening act Covet were chilled-out instrumental geniuses. Hail The Sun provided their spastic brand of controlled chaos getting fans all types of hyped. Speaking of, UK newcomers Don Broco brought their spunky fun-loving hype to the stage getting many to waive their tops to the fan-favorite “T-Shirt Song.” And lastly, progressive metal mainstays Periphery absolutely slayed the crowd with face-melting heaviness thanks in part to their brand new LP Hail Stan.
All in all, the night was utter perfection from start the finish. And just to prove how perfect things were, Noise contributor Kyle Dehn has supplied us with nearly 100 photos from the show for you all to glance through in awe. To check out the shots, be sure look below. Afterward, make sure to grab tickets to the remaining dates of the Artificial Selection tour here.
