Greg Puciato with Escuela Grind - Fine Line - Minneapolis - May 12th, 2023

Greg Puciato with Escuela Grind, Deaf Club and Trace Amount

Greg Puciato is on his first solo headlining tour, and stopped at the Fine Line in downtown Minneapolis, along with heavy acts Escuela Grind, Deaf Club, and Trace Amount.

Trace Amount opened the night and didn’t hold back, starting with a backlit silhouetted wall of sound that shook the floor at the Fine Line. It is always impressive when a solo artist can take the stage with such a minimalist setup and create such massive sound. The industrial beats were heavy, and the growls were intense, bringing a great opening to a powerful night.

San Diego based Deaf Club was up next, and absolutely tore the venue apart with sonic disruption, intense energy, and front man Justin Pearson engaging the crowd with in-their-face screams, taunts to the balcony, and jumping out onto the floor (and even up in the balcony) to perform. The sound was aptly deafening and the intensity grinding, riling up the crowd for more.

Escuela Grind took the stage next, and lead vocalist Katerina Economou brought everything to the stage. Her fury and intensity were captivating, and the politically charged and emotionally driven lyrics were powerfully delivered and matched by explosive drumming and heavy guitar and bass riffs. They delivered the most amazing amount of energy and fury, almost literally setting the venue on fire.

Closing out the night, Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Killer Be Killed, The Black Queen, Better Lovers, and recently touring with Jerry Cantrell) delivered an impeccable and explosive journey through his masterful catalog of experience and musical breadth. Joined by and impressive band made up of Nick Sadler and James Hammontree, drummer Noah Taylor, and bassist Jeff Geisser, he oscillated between heavier grunge and industrial metal with bright harsh light and strobes in “Fire for Water” and synth wave, melodic and emotionally delivered lyrics in the hauntingly beautiful “Lowered”. His set was a rare glimpse into his range of influences and stylings, and as Puciato says these dates will “possibly be the only tour under my own name for the foreseeable future,” it was a show not to be missed and one that the crowd fully engaged and deeply experienced.

Experience a better sense of how rockin’ this show was by scrolling through all 4 separate galleries for each band below.

Review and photos by Kate Klaus