I had a great time at this show. First, the VIP show/meet and greet was awesome! Devin was funny, open, lucid, and entertaining. It was very cool listening to him talk about his thoughts on Ghost, Deconstruction, Ki, and so on. He talked about song writing and why he put SYL behind him for DTP. For me, the greatest thing was hearing his excitement about Ghost and touring. This is a revitalized Devin! He seems genuinely happy about where he is in life, which is great. He played "Coast," "Terminal" and "Ih-Ah." I was giddy with fanboy delight. Felt silly getting an autograph but I did it anyway. ("Look, everyone! I met Devin Townsend! For real, in person!" Who? "Devin Townsend!" Who? "He was in Strapping Young Lad!" Who? Nevermind.) He signed my iPad. So, now it's worth money! Took my picture with him, which didn't feel as silly. He's a super nice guy. Or appeared so.
Then, on stage, he became The Dev. He was hilarious and totally metal! He invited us all to suck his "4 inch thigh banger." Then, told us he was just kidding, we didn't really have to suck his cock. Whew! The band was tight and the backing tracks worked perfectly! For some reason, I never realized that the voices in "Truth" were saying "moneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoney" but it became obvious in this live version. "Color Your World" blew the roof off the place. "Kingdom" sounds completely contemporary. I wish they would play the full version of "Om." "Do you feel that, babies?" Dev asked. The suit was ridiculous and completely awesome. Perfect for Dev's brand of metal. "Deadhead" sounded great and Dev screamed his balls off. (During the VIP set, he mentioned taking it easy, vocally, because he would spend an hour and a half screaming his balls off, later.) I thought it a bit odd to end with "Deep Peace" because usually bands end with a high tempo, kick your ass, super hit song. But, then again, I think Dev loves to fuck with your expectations. At one point he said, between songs, "I aim to confuse."
Overall, this was a rocking show and I'm glad I saw it, even though I had work the next day (Dev was right, we are the Nerds, we're the ones with jobs!) and it resulted in my having 4 hours sleep before a 14 hour work day. But, totally worth it. Dev is not for everyone, I think, but he is definitely for me. As long as Devin remains true to himself, he will always be outside the mainstream, which is okay with me. For that reason, I will continue to buy every album, even the ones like Devlab and The Hummer. I will always buy a t-shirt. I will always pay for a VIP ticket, if available. An artist like Devin deserves our support because he is true, honest, and pure in an industry that penalizes you for being so. When you listen to Devin's album, it's exactly what he wanted to make. He plays the music in concert he wants to play. And, if you like that, then you'll get more of it.
I think, based on what I saw and heard, Devin will always be making some kind of heavy music (Ziltoid 2! Definitely on the drawing board!) and he will always be making a KI or Ghost, too. And, that's cool with me.
Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 9:38 am
