Dillinger Escape Plan reflect on chaotic past

The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan

The Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato says he was “out of control” when the band played live during their early days.

And pointing to their set at the 2002 Reading Festival, when he infamously defecated in a bag and threw it into the crowd, Puciato reports he was amazed they got away with it at the time.

He tells Kerrang: “We were so out of control onstage back then that it didn’t even seem that crazy. That’s the crazy thing. Every show we were playing back then, we were lighting our drums on fire, we were smashing our instruments, we were throwing gear into the crowd, we were knocking things over and breaking things that didn’t belong to us.

“There was so much chaos happening at that time that shitting onstage and throwing it at people didn’t even seem that great, like didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. So I was really shocked when it was such a huge deal which is silly because obviously it’s insane.”

He continues: “The crazy thing to me is that if someone did that now they’d probably get arrested as soon as they walked offstage. Now that I’m older I can’t believe they didn’t turn us off. Why wasn’t I arrested the second I walked offstage?”

Puciato says he must have believed he couldn’t have been arrested when he was in his early 20s, but adds: “They tried to kick me out of England, they tried to say that I could never come back due crazy public indecency. A couple days after it happened we received word there was a possibility that I may never be allowed back into England.”

The Dillinger Escape Plan will head out on the road again next month when they’ll play at Chicago’s Douglas Park, before setting off on a US tour throughout October and November.

They’ve lined up the dates in support of sixth album Dissociation, which is due out on October 14. The New Jersey outfit recently announced they’ll go on indefinite hiatus following the tour cycle for the follow-up to 2013’s One Of Us Is The Killer – though Puciato referred to it as a “breakup.”

Dillinger Escape Plan US tour 2016

Sep 16: Chicago Douglas Park, IL
Oct 12: Baltimore Soundstage, MD
Oct 13: Providence Fete Music Hall, RI
Oct 14: Poughkeepsie Chance Theater, NY
Oct 15: New York Webster Hall, NY
Oct 17: Pontiac Crofoot Ballroom, MI
Oct 18: Cleveland House Of Blues, OH
Oct 19: Indianapolis Vogue, IN
Oct 20: Sauget Pop’s Nightclub, IL
Oct 21: Lawrence Granada, KS
Oct 22: Denver Marquid Theater, CO
Oct 23: Salt Lake City Urban Lounge, UT
Oct 25: Seattle El Corazon, WA
Oct 26: Portland Dante’s, OR
Oct 27: Berkeley UC Theatre, CA
Oct 28: San Diego Brick By Brick, CA
Oct 30: Los Angeles Regent, LA
Oct 31: Phoenix Marquee, AZ
Nov 01: El Paso Tricky Falls, TX
Nov 03: San Antonio Paper Tiger, TX
Nov 04: Dallas Trees, TX
Nov 05: Austin Sound On Sound Festival, TX
Nov 06: Houston White Oak Music Hall, TX
Nov 07: New Orleans Southport Hall, LA
Nov 09: Ft Lauderdale Revolution, FL
Nov 11: Atlanta Variety Playhouse, GA
Nov 13: Knoxville Concourse, TN
Nov 15: Philadelphia Union Transfer, PA
Nov 16: Boston Paradise Rock Club, MA
Nov 17: Burlington Club Metronome, MT
Nov 18: Huntington Paramount, NY
Nov 19: Hartford Webster, CT

Dillinger Escape Plan Dissociation tracklist

  1. Limerent Death
  2. Symptom Of Terminal Illness
  3. Wanting Not So Much As To
  4. Fugue
  5. Low Feels Blvd
  6. Surrogate
  7. Honeysuckle
  8. Manufacturing Discontent
  9. Apologies Not Included
  10. Nothing To Forget
  11. Dissociation

Party Smasher: Greg Puciato's 15 Most Significant Dillinger Escape Plan Songs

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.