The Devin Townsend Project seems to love Australia, because 18 months after their last tour they are back again on our shores playing sold out shows. Beginning the Australian leg of the tour in Brisbane on Saturday night was seemingly great choice as earlier in the week the show had sold out, and if the reception from this show was anything to go by, then it’s going to be another great tour.
Instrumental act Sleepmakeswaves opened the show and had one of the hardest jobs of the night! I mean, winning over a crowd is always a difficult thing, but winning over a crowd as an instrumental act is an entirely different and harder kettle of fish. But whether it was through the brilliance of their sound, or the sheer energy in their performance the band absolutely wowed the pants off the audience. These guys worked harder than most performers with a vocalist at the helm would have, and even with some bass rig issues they powered through without it affecting their performance in any meaningful way.
The band was really hard to falter, which I know is a commitment that they have always worked hard to portray, and in exchange they left the stage with a lot of new fans, or music lovers appreciative of what they had witnessed which created the perfect start for the night.
The Devin Townsend Project took the stage after a brief Ziltoid-filled intermission and through their performance reinforced just why they are a mainstay in the metal world. As the band jumped straight into “Rejoice”, it became apparent that the only thing bigger than the crowds reaction in the room was the smiles on the band members faces, and with each member taking the time to interact with the crowd throughout the song, we were treated to what was only the tip of what was to come throughout the night.
The stripped back stage set up allowed for not only Devin Townsend himself to get up and close with the fans, but also backing members Dave Young and Brian ‘Beav’ Waddell to alternate at times and share the love to the crowd. But it really was their dedication to engaging the crowd as a unit that made this show more than just a performance.
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Sonically I couldn’t falter the band at all, and setlist wise, even though there were only 14 songs, the band still managed to pick a fantastic selection of songs from the band’s career and only dedicated a handful of songs to the new album. Crowd favourites like “Ziltoid Goes Home”, and “March of the Poozers” were filtered in with other classics like “Ih-Ah!”, “Kingdom” and “Deadhead” which truly offered a wide variety of tracks for all fans to enjoy.
One thing I’ve always admired about Devin is that what you see in the interviews and social media posts is exactly what you get, and during his set he made an explicit effort to make sure that everyone was not only entertained with the music, but also entertained with his comedic antics – particularly when he informed us about the three song encore that was going to be performed before the band departed stage, or when he asked for the crowds assistance in ‘cliche rock things’ like the lighters in the air, group clap, or the countdown during “March of the Poozers”. It’s these little things that endear his performances to the fans and make him such a legendary figure. Knowing that these things don’t get diluted in his live performance, and even expanding on it during an unexpected battery change on his acoustic guitar mean that these experiences are always unique and leave the fans with a lasting memory of his shows.
After running us all through the upcoming stage departure and the ensuing encore roll, the band finished up with the track “Higher” for which Devin apologized that he only had an ‘choir in a can’ because he couldn’t afford to fly out a 35 member choir. The song received a rousing reception, but it was the moments afterwards that left a lasting impression with the fans. Shelving their instruments, the band came to the front of the stage and shook hands with those that were there – in an unusual way it was a connectedness that you don’t see from many ‘bigger’ name artists – but it was something which truly reinforced the commitment that the band feels for their fans.
It had only been 18 months since Devin Townsend had toured here last, but with several sold out shows, and many close to selling out it is quite clear the Australian market loves him. Let’s just hope that the absences between tours stays that short, because I’m sure I’m not the only one that could watch a performance like that any day of the week and still walk away from it with a grin the size of the Cheshire Cat on my face.
