Review: La Dispute at Astor Theatre
La Dispute at Astor Theatre
w/ Special Features, Symmetrical Dogs
Friday, October 16, 2026
Michigan post-hardcore act La Dispute kicked off the Australian leg of their No One Was Driving The Car Tour Australian tour at the Astor on Friday night.
As anticipation built for the evening’s show, the crowd swirled around, lining up for drinks, finding seats or, for the keenest fans, claiming a spot close to the stage. Boorloo alt-folk group Symmetrical Dogs started the night with a bang, with the four-piece lineup of vocals, guitar, drums and cello setting the tone with their self-described “Goth folk-ish” sound.
The group piqued the curiosity of the early arrivals, striking an exciting balance between a vulnerable and fierce sound. Claire Stanwix’s breathy vocals exploded into yells and just as abruptly returned to melodic swooning. Meanwhile, Boyd Jarvis’ rolling guitar melodies melded dynamically with new addition, Ani Postmas’ melancholy cello. Drummer Mike Wooldridge brings the primal beat that complements Stanwix’s often feral wailings and startling barks. It’s a pleasure to watch and support local music, and songs such as Grapes and Apologies and new track Project Pig are perfect examples of a great band on the rise.
Experimental punk-rock band Special Features were up next, blessing us from Brissy on their first trip to Perth. Fans were greeted by a sonic punch of guitar distortion, and the band continued to pleasurably antagonise throughout. The four-piece have stated The Drones as one of their musical inspirations, which is somewhat telling of their style, but listeners may also detect influences from a range of genres and artists such as Spike Fuck, Silverchair and Soft Play.
The band take a tongue-in-cheek approach to non-conformity, with songs such as Give Me a Break and Che Guevara T-shirt showcasing their anti-establishment attitude. With the mic cord slung around his neck, vocalist Zac Carr strutted across the stage, throwing in a “Free Palestine” for good measure. Carr and bassist Jeremy Sankey trade vocal duties in the band, with Carr also picking up a guitar for some songs, while Alex Smith held down the drums and Karissa Liu played guitar.
The almost completely black-clad crowd went wild as La Dispute hit the stage for their first trip to Australia in 15 years and launched into The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit from their 2011 record, Wildfire. In a white button-up shirt, frontman Jordan Dryer looked like he could have come straight from an office job, yet punk is not a costume, and after a La Dispute show, you could feel the band is hardcore through and through.
Taking no time to warm up, Dryer whipped around in circles on stage like someone crazed. After performing I Shaved My Head, he waxed lyrical about how every decision you’ve ever made has led you to this exact moment with these exact people—and what a wonderful place to be. It is so fascinating to see La Dispute perform their highly energetic and emotional music and bear witness to the wordsmith that is Dryer. He seems to rarely take a breath, and the songs tumble out of him like he might explode if he doesn’t expel them, like an elevated spoken-word event with a tonne of angst.
Emo music is not everyone’s cup of tea, yet La Dispute manage to turn their plaintive punk into something that feels incredibly raw, dark and vulnerable without being whiny or too navel-gazey. Sibling Fistfight at Mom’s Fiftieth is a standout song from their 2025 record, No One Was Driving the Car. The song describes the somewhat ordinary issues we face in life and the disappointments that life can often bring—suburban problems like getting drunk and fighting with siblings at a family event whilst hinting at the passing of time and growing old.
The crowd clapped along as Dryer sang, “It’s life, it’s fine… there’s beauty and there’s anguish tangled helplessly inside. What a miracle it is we get to be alive.”
The band then jumped straight into King’s Park, its grim storytelling-style painting a picture of a fatal shooting. Dryer exclaimed to the crowd how pleased they were to be back in Perth and how he’s aware we often get overlooked on the west side of our huge country. He then gave shout-outs to the opening bands and joked that he hoped they won’t share a stage again in the future, as they are amazing and La Dispute didn’t want to be overshadowed.
The emotions kept coming in the form of I Dreamt of a Room Where All My Friends I Could Not Get In, one of the most epic songs of the show. Dryer had dropped the shirt by now and was still ceaselessly pacing and spinning around, yelling into the microphone, sharing with the crowd his concerns about the world, highlighting racism, sexism, transphobia, billionaires and war. He told us to seek beauty in the world, to make art and be good to one another. “This song’s for you,” he said, and the band launched into End Times Sermon.
In Andria, the lead guitar and bass really shone, with Corey Stroffolino and Adam Vass’ skills at the forefront. Dryer explained how ridiculous the whole encore thing is and that they wouldn’t waste time going backstage only to be summoned out again by the crowd in predictable fashion. Instead, they declared they would finish the set with two more songs.
Environmental Catastrophe was epic, and of course, it wouldn’t be a La Dispute show without playing crowd favourite Such Small Hands. The fans went wild, singing along and getting on friends’ shoulders, finishing the night on a high.
Poignant and powerful, La Dispute showed on Friday night they remain a tour de force for the hardcore scene and continue to wear their values on their sleeve unapologetically.
KYRA SHENNAN
Photos by Jeff Smith
