Seeing La Dispute is often described as a religious experience. Stood in the gathering mass at Cardiff’s Tramshed, waiting for the sermon to begin, the banners on the stage reading “be welcome now in it, in tunnels of light” made me wonder whether this is more of a feature than a bug of their live show.
Before we accept the gospel according to La Dispute, the crowd was warmed up by instrumental outfit Pjin. The post-everything ensemble from Manchester put on an enjoyable set and did a good job of gently warming the crowd.
Next up were Southern Californian Screamo trio, Vs Self. The trio from Apple Valley mixes harsh vocals, catchy as fuck licks, and even a little tambourine with the kind of cascading beats that make a circle pit all but inevitable.
Finally, Cardiff’s 12-year wait to receive the blessings of La Dispute was over.
The Michigan rockers bounded onto the stage and launched right into I Shaved My Head. The opening track from their latest album, No One Was Driving The Car, feels like a mission statement crossed with a minor threat.
It almost felt sedate compared to what would follow as the sense of togetherness and catharsis between the band and the audience grew.
The pit slowly expanded, and the cacophony of singing from the crowd grew louder with each passing song. Though the opening bars of The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit caused the audience to shift into a higher gear, as frontman Jordan Dreyer nonchalantly announced, “King Park”, the whole venue erupted.
I couldn’t blame them, though. It’s a fucking trip. The pit engulfed the standing area, every word recanted by every fan in the house. Security was on high alert. Crowd surfers came in waves.
It was the platonic Ideal of a punk gig at that point. Community, shared art, connection, empathy. A powerhouse performance.
It made Dreyer’s speech about the punk community’s sense of togetherness, inclusion, and decency all the more resonant. Thanking the audience as the gig wound down, Dreyer stated it was these values that have kept La Dispute making music for 20 years, and urged those in attendance to take these shared values into the wider world, to try and push back against the darkness of our current times, block by block if needs be. To say the guy has a point is an understatement, and a half.
He then led a chant of Free Free Palestine, as if any self-respecting punk wouldn’t agree withthat sentiment.
After hopping off his soapbox and apologising for the 12-year wait for another barnstomer at the Tramshed, La Dispute bowed out with one final love song. Andria. One of my favourites, it makes me smile, from time to time,
As they left the stage, the seething mass was left wanting more, some confused over the lack of an encore, even though the band said they felt they were outdated. One fan next to me asked whether I thought they would play For Said the King to the Sea, I replied, “Probably not”, as the house lights went up.
As everyone started to file back out into the Cardiff night, I wasn’t so much hoping for one more song than that we don’t have to wait more than a decade for another sermon.