Jannus Live in St. Pete has been hosting the absolute best shows in Florida for a long time now, but it will be a long time before they top the run they’ve been on this October. Closing out the month were none other than mathcore pioneers The Dillinger Escape Plan, playing songs off their monumental debut full-length Calculating Infinity with their original lineup. St. Pete is the official ‘end’ of the tour, although the band heads to Miami to sail away on the Headbangers Boat 2026, this is their last headlining show with this lineup playing this material.
To help close out this monumental run, Dillinger summoned some local favorites in Days Spent and Cold Steel to help open the show.
DAYS SPENT
Opening the night were female-fronted hardcore band Days Spent. You could tell this was the biggest show they’ve ever played (they eventually admitted as much) because they came out with loads of energy and got the crowd moving early. Vocalist Nancy Crozier noted that she remembered seeing a show at Jannus back when she was 12, and that it’s surreal to finally be playing that stage so many years later.
The band played possessed, just exuding so much energy all across the stage and sounding great while doing it. As corny as it sounds, they really did leave it all up on the stage, which is what you can only hope every band you see gives you. They were super fun, and it was amazing to see such a locally respected band open up a massive show like this.
COLD STEEL
Tampa hardcore outfit Cold Steel got in on the action as well. These guys have been on a tear lately, having just wrapped up an Audiotree Live session and a tour with Bayway. The sky really is the limit for them, and they were here to represent Tampa hardcore on a huge stage.
The first thing I have to say is that more bands need three guitarists. The wall of sound you can produce is just completely absurd, and it allows you the freedom to rip a sick ass solo while still getting a huge backing section.
These guys came through the door that Days Spent kicked open, and they smashed through the dining room table. They brought an absurd amount of energy and got the local crowd riled up. It’s amazing to get to see a performance like this in a hometown setting, because you know a few years from now, when the band is off doing huge things, you can look back and reminisce about how cool this moment was, for both the band and the Tampa hardcore scene.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN
Finally, after the crowd was subjected to “Sailing” by Christopher Cross (which is still stuck in my head), the headliners took to the stage. Calculating Infinity is one of those albums that completely rewired my, and probably everyone in the crowd's, brain when I first came into contact with it twenty-something years ago, so the anticipation to hear some of these songs live was palpable amongst the crowd.
After an opening instrumental track, the band launched into “Destro’s Secret,” which set the tone for the rest of the night. It’s truly mind-boggling how tightly this music can be performed live, because it can seem impossible to follow along sometimes. They call it ‘mathcore’ for a reason, after all.
During the opening tracks, I was of two minds about the show. First was my concertgoer brain, which was receiving a healthy dose of neuron activation hearing some of these songs. The band sounded amazing, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis was jumping into the crowd and screaming with fans, guitarist Ben Weinman was doing his classic windmill moves and jumping all over the place; it was really insane to see.
The other mind was my photographer brain, which was having an overwhelmingly hard time trying to capture good-looking photographs. The biggest reason being the light show they had brought with them was just as erratic and visually overwhelming as their auditory bombardment. I really wouldn’t expect any different, honestly, as it really added to the nature of the performance.
The band played through almost all of their early catalog of music, including a few surprise covers, including “Just One Fix” by Ministry, as well as an amazing cover of “Come To Daddy” by Aphex Twin. It was completely surreal hearing songs like “Sugar Coated Sour” and “Jim Fear” live, songs that have been seared into my memory from long road trips and daily commutes to college.
After working their way to the end of the setlist, Minakakis thanked the crowd once again for coming out and making this tour incredibly special. He then got onto the barrier as the band kicked into “43% Burnt” which set the crowd into an absolute frenzy. Minakakis flopped around the crowd as they all screamed along into his microphone, while Weinman, who had dragged a Marshall amp to the front of the stage, stomped along perched up high.
Once Minakakis made his way back to the stage halfway through the song, he urged every single person to get on the stage, going so far as to give them exact instructions on how to get onto the stage, and little by little, the stage was suddenly flooded with people from the crowd. The band ended the song surrounded by people swinging their arms on stage, Weinman still flailing away on top of his amp in a sea of bodies, with Minankasis and the rest of the band being bombarded with hugs from fans. It was without question the most on-brand conclusion to a show, and tour, that I could write up in my head.
As The Dillinger Escape Plan heads to perform on the Headbangers Boat cruise, there’s sort of an unknown future for the band. Will they reunite with vocalist Greg Puciato to do a run of shows? Will they stick with this lineup and write new music? It seems unclear, but what is clear is how grateful I am that I was around to get to witness this show with this lineup. It’s always impossible to know when you’re in ‘the good times’ in the moment, but this was one of those instances where it was very clear to everyone at the show that we caught something absolutely magical.
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the dillinger escape plan SETLIST
Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, FL (10/29/2026)
*#..
Destro's Secret
The Running Board
The Mullet Burden
Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction
Calculating Infinity
Sugar Coated Sour
Sandbox Magician
4th Grade Dropout
Just One Fix (Ministry cover)
Abe the Cop
Weekend Sex Change
Variations on a Cocktail Dress
Monticello
Jim Fear
Come to Daddy (Aphex Twin cover)
43% Burnt