Dream State arrive at their homecoming show with one of the best British debuts this year and a heck of a lot of fans. Whilst there have been a few gigs on the tour before this one, it seems as though things are gearing up towards this specific date and it seems that way with the crowd too. There’s no song to try and find where the levels are, from the off they are going for it and do not let up the entire show.
“Made Up Smile” opens up their album “Primrose Hill” in suitably raucous form as it does here. It almost catches the security off guard, as their work is extremely busy throughout the night. The whole room is bouncing along to its incredibly catchy tempo and the sound itself is on point and very loud! “Hand In Hand” sees CJ Chiplin for the first of many times in the thick of the crowd. The mini pocket rocket is full of energy, standing on the barrier and swinging off the lights.
Throughout the gig, the requests of “Can I have this one?” come as the multitude of crowdsurfers get invited onto the stage. They promptly hug and don’t outstay their welcome before diving straight into the pit again. The band are all on extremely fine form as well and it’s not surprising given their reputation for their incendiary live performances. “Help Myself” from last years EP “Recovery” and “Open Windows” show off their heavy side. But from a crowd request, they change their setlist up a bit and perform the pounding “Out Of The Blue”. During the breakdowns the walls themselves feels as though they are shaking and the movement from everyone in the pit, it’s a wonder the floor doesn’t give way.
In between songs CJ also wears her heart on her sleeve a lot throughout the gig, encouraging the crowd to take care and look out for one another, a common theme running through their recent album. The group are clearly appreciative of their fans for the support in the last year in the lead up to this. But it’s clear that they are also a band for the fans; not a single song goes by without somebody surfing over the barrier; barely missing their head on the lamps or everyone singing at the tops of their voices.
“Primrose” is a song which tackles the issues that lead singer CJ has gone through, head on and is blistering, particularly during the really heavy and growly sections. Things are finished off with “White Lies”, giving everyone their last chance to dance. Without hesitation, a pit taking up a large section of the room opens up before all chaos is let loose. I’ve been to a lot of gigs in my time, but never before have I seen a circle pit going whilst the band are off the stage before the encore. They come back to finish with a pair of songs from the “Recovery” EP. “New Waves” encourages what was only teased before and gets around 20-30 bodies on stage; hugging the band, taking selfies etc. But what’s impressive is how well the band still manage to keep things going amongst the sea of people.
Once the final notes of “In This Hell” play out, Dream State know that this will be a show for them to remember. Embracing the crowd as their own and hugging and high fiving as many of them as they possibly can. It’s been a huge year for the band and don’t be surprised if we don’t see them in bigger venues going forward into 2020.
Reviewed at Swansea Sin City on 1st November 2019