GREG PUCIATO AT UNDERGROUND ARTS IN PHILADELPHIA
Most may know him from his former project, Dillinger Escape Plan, and many may know him from his newest project, Better Lovers, but not everyone may know that Greg Puciato is currently touring his solo project. If you don’t, it’s time to listen up. With two solo albums under his belt (2020’s Child Soldier: Creator of God and 2022’s Mirrorcell) it was time to finally tour. With support from Trace Amount and Deaf Club, this tour took a stop at Philadelphia’s Underground Arts for an intimate night of music.
Starting the night off was Trace Amount, a solo artist/producer. Equipped with a variety of electronics, the artist played an interesting set. The contrast of this performance compared to Deaf Club and Greg’s set was a great choice, but I can definitely see this being an acquired taste. Be sure to get there early enough to give this set a listen anyways, because with it being a one man act it was still an impressive performance. Taking the stage next was Deaf Club, a punk band who truly embodied the meaning of the word. Their performance was exciting and energetic. Vocalist Justin Pearson did a phenomenal job of interacting with the crowd and getting them hyped. At the end of their set he ran across the venue and hopped up on the bar to finish his performance, an unexpected surprise.
Greg Puciato’s set started quite late (around 11:30pm) due to what we believe was some sort of technical issue. This absolutely did not stop him from playing a full set whatsoever. He was going to make sure his fans got what they came for. When it was finally time to start, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation and antsy to get started. Starting his set off with “Reality Spiral”, he had the audience in the palm of his hand from the get go. The entire front row or so of people standing against the stage were screaming along with a deep energy, and Greg didn’t hesitate to get down and grab them all in a group to scream with them - a highly interactive performance from him. He frequently interacted with the crowd throughout the set, physically grabbing people to get up in their faces and to share the mic to scream into. At one point a pit opened up and people were flying into the floor. The moody lighting helped to enhance the performance quite a bit as well. It really made you feel like you were at a basement punk gig, but on a larger scale. Throughout his set he played songs such as “Don’t Wanna Deal”, “Lowered”, and “Creator of God”. Not once did the energy wane, even though it was quite a late show for a Monday night. He ended his set with “September City”, leaving the crowd wanting more. If you have the chance to catch this one coming through your area, don’t hesitate to grab tickets for a show. This was definitely not one to miss.
Nicole DiBenedetto is a photographer based out of New Jersey. She likes making new friends and meeting new people so catch her out in the pit and say hi!