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Devin Townsend Project And Gojira Concert Review

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The Devin Townsend Project and Gojira concert review

IT was fucking awesome, the end. But for those who actually want to hear what i have to say and have taken the time to read this here's an in depth look at it.

Ok, I was so stoked for this concert ever since Gojira cancelled their previous tour with Dethklok, i could feel another tour coming along, if you can't tell from my username i'm a pretty big fan of Gojira. Here is a little glimpse or back-story to my love with this band. In '09 i got to see Metallica (my all time favorite)and Lamb of God, but what i didn't know was Gojira was the opener (i had no idea who they were at the time). I had never heard anything so pleasant and heavy before and i became an instant fan, but i never knew their name. i couldn't really google it because i had no internet and my school blocked just about every site on their server. I somehow managed to get to the jackson guitar site and was looking at all the artists that used them and they could be categorized by nation. I found a french flag and thought it was funny that France had a metal band. After a few laughs i googled them and found a site that wasn't blocked and that was informative at the same time. it was a bunch of comments about the Metallica tour and how they opened for them. I tried to listen to their music but youtube was blocked and the closet music store was 100km away (i was too young to drive, and they never carry any metal band cd that isn't classic or on roadrunner records label anyways)

Fast forward a few years and my highschool finally decides not to block youtube because the teachers like to use it. I was reminiscing about the glorious day when i saw Metallica and suddenly remembered about Gojira. I typed their name into the search bar and clicked on the first video that showed up. "Ocean Planet", the song starts off with a whale singing and then a really heavy riff. They made sounds that jut blew the brains out of the back of my skull. From then on i was a total fanboy.

My Devin Townsend story is way shorter: I heard a song called "Love?" by Strapping Young Lad and then i drooled over eveything else he's made since. You could imagine how hyped i was when i heard the two were touring together and the second stop was hour away.


Back to the concert review.

So my friend and i stood out in the dead streets of Winnipeg for an hour before the doors opened. It was a small crowd at first but they were very dedicated. Some people came to the doors woefully under dressed in t shirts and jeans because they had no idea what time it was and they quickly disappeared until showtime. My dad (my ride) came back for some reason and we lamed out 15 minutes in the heated car and got out before more people were arriving.
The cold was bitter but we were undeterred. Minutes crept by and so did the homeless lurkers asking for change. Groups of people flooded in behind us, making small talk with each other. It was really calm given how epic the idea of two amazing bands playing back to back. A tall man with a blonde ponytail and a zig zag beard ushered us in one at a time. Stubs of our tickets were ripped and our hands were stamped. We bought our merch and waited patiently for the doors to the stage area to open.

As soon as the doors to the seating and floor area were slightly ajar we bolted right for the front and hung our jackets on the railing. The most "derpy" face of Devin Townsend was the star of a random  slide show with Photoshopped images of his mug on every slide. Images of pacman, star wars, home photos, voldemort, and all kinds of crazy shit had the crowd laughing with each slide. And then his mascot Ziltoid hosted a few random videos. Random is hardly a fitting term for the description, more like an acid trip gone haywire, i mean it was a video of cows morphing into each other and electronic music behind it. And then a compilation of internet videos and a weird dog exercise video hosted by an asian woman with insane biceps. That's how you know you're in for something special.  

Devin and his band finally came on after 30 minutes of hilarity. They exuded confidence as they strode across the stage and played "Supercrush!" flawlessly, i mean he had Anneke VanGiersbergen sing that on the album but he sang it operatically and it just fit in seamlessly. I made a lot of eye contact with the bass player and we banged our heads in unison. Suddenly mine and Devin's eyes meet and chills coarse through my veins like an icy ditch. I regained that feeling of child-like wonder and joy.

Devin's performance was spot on and he engaged the crowd after each song. "I've been married for years so i don't care if you call me gay" Devin said before he got the crowd to "act gay with him" by swaying our arms in the air. He then got us to do jazz hands every time he sang the chorus for Lucky Animals. He then called out people that are too "metal" to this by putting a scowl on his face and crossing his arms and staring at them, and then suddenly put on a big smile and jazz hands with the rest of the crowd. His setlist was heavily based on his current album "Epicloud" and his last 4 albums and a few oldies. Overall he performed his songs perfectly and got the crowd laughing at his antics. It was one of the best shows i had ever been to. The bassist threw me a pick, probably because i rocked out with him.

After DTP was done everyone went to buy beer and wait in the lobby. I stayed put and my friend went to engage in some less than legal activities. When he came back i still had his spot saved and we made room in the front row for this other group's friend. We socialized with this hirsute man until Gojira came on. Metal always gets a bad wrap for supposedly encouraging bad behavior, but what people don't know is that its actually pretty chill. Every concert i've been to i've talked to guys and hit it off instantly (not in a gay way) and yet i can never hold a conversation that isn't an argument for more than a minute anywhere else. Fuck sterotypes!

"GO-JI-RA!" the crowd chanted continuously until they took the stage. everyone was headbanging. When the music started all you could see in the crowd was spinning hair that looked like waves in choppy waters. I felt so dizzy after the first song but that didn't stop me from throwing my head around like a maniac. Christian Andreu (guitar) was right in front of me the most of the time unless Jean-Michele gallivanted across the stage every so often. Every time Christian looked into my direction i would throw up the horns and head bang harder, he would nod and mouth "yeah!" at me.

Every song they played was fucking heavy and my neck is still recovering from it. I don't have a lot to say about their performance, i mean they played songs from every album except Terra Incognita and they played their instruments spot on and Joe's voice was as awesome as ever. Mario played a wicked drum solo after he switched spots with his brother and sang and played guitar to a song i've never heard.

After they were done is when they really got my heart racing. They all came up to the front row after the show and embraced us. Mario moved from on side to the other highfiving all along the way. Joe only came up to the centre and touched hands, Jean-Michele was pulled into the crowd and ruffled my hair ( that's a memory i'll take to my grave!) and Christian did the same as Mario only from the other side. It was magical, i felt like i was on top of the world and their was no getting down.

overall i'd rate this concert a 10432356382510/10 stars. Go get your tickets now while they're still on tour!
A recollection of my time in heaven.
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