Ladies and gentlemen, the D-Plan is back. Who knows how it happened, and who knows for how long — let’s just bask in the fact that, 10 years after breaking up, these Washington, D.C. based ‘90s indie rockers are tearing it up on stage again.
As fans packed into the Paradise on Saturday, counting down the minutes until the Plan was scheduled to take the stage, it became clear that this was a band deeply ingrained in peoples’ identities. The guy whose 20s were defined by the D-Plan’s pivotal Emergency & I (1999); the nostalgic mom and dad rockers who’d left the kids at home for the night; the teenager who was probably even too young to remember the Plan at its heyday — they were all there, and at some point they’d all probably come to accept that the Dismemberment Plan was gone for good.
But then the Plan reunited for a handful of shows in 2011 and 2012, planting hope in the hearts of their cult followers. Despite the band deflecting rumors that they were returning to the studio, fans sensed something on the horizon. One thing led to another, and then — what do you know? — the band popped a new album called Uncanney Valley on us last month, officially closing out a hiatus of 12 years. Their recent string of U.S. tour dates is just the icing on top. “These guys are from my hometown!” one kid at the show exclaimed repeatedly, his expression a cross between euphoria and disbelief. He never thought he’d get to experience a D-Plan show again. Based on the roaring applause and cathartic head bobbing throughout the night, he wasn’t alone.
For four guys who aren’t full-time musicians anymore — frontman Travis Morrison is a graphic and web designer, guitarist Jason Caddell is an audio engineer, bassist Eric Axelson works as a marketing content manager at Capital One, and drummer Joe Easley is a NASA engineer — Saturday’s show was an impressive feat. Their performance was just as explosive, spastic, and nervy as they’d left off, delivering a career-spanning set that had the audience bouncing and singing along with everything from older songs like “Ellen and Ben,” “The City,” and “What Do You Want Me to Say?” to newer material, like Uncanney Valley’s standout track, “Invisible.” Morrison never let up his boyish grin as he ripped through the D-Plan’s witty and humorous lyrics with his classic vocal style — a wailing “speak-sing.” Energetic and goofy, he bantered with the crowd in between songs, even inviting two audience members onto stage for a “fashion show” to promote the official tour t-shirts.
Though, of course it wouldn’t be a Dismemberment Plan show — or a D-Plan show in Boston, at that — without the band summoning the crowd onstage to dance during “The Ice of Boston.” With dozens of fans busting moves next to the band members, the atmosphere became one of a rowdy, climactic celebration — ironically to the narrative of a non-celebratory song about living in Boston.
After playfully booting fans off the stage, the band dove into their last number of the night: “OK Joke’s Over.” Unexpectedly, the song finished with a convulsive yet strangely fitting tribute to “Royals” by Lorde. “And we’ll never be royals / You can call me queen bee,” Morrison sang, hunched over as if expending his last breath. But if it was all an elaborate joke, nobody seemed to notice — it was all so natural. That’s the genius of the D-Plan.