So I meant to write a post a while ago, November 2nd to be exact, about the Devin Townsend Project show I went to, but I got sidetracked and became super busy with schoolwork and family stuff and whatnot, so here's a double post about two different shows:
Show #1: November 2nd, 2010:
Myself and my two friends, John and Zach, went to see the Devin Townsend Project at Cafe Campus. It took us a little while to find out exactly where it was sadly, even with my android phone with google maps, and we were becoming a bit impatient and worried, as we had purchased Meet & Greet tickets. When we finally found the place, things were running a bit late, and we had to wait a little while before actually getting in. Once we were all let in finally, we were led to a little space at the back of the venue, where Devin was just standing there, playing some ambient guitar on his acoustic, saying hi and shaking peoples' hands, joking around and just being an all-around nice guy.
It was a great experience, as I have loved Devin's works since Strapping Young Lad, and have enjoyed every album he has released since. It was great hearing him play some acoustic songs, and talk about how important it is to be true to yourself, and make any music you want to make, be what you want to be etc. He even said himself that he's very hippie these days, and that you should not buy into the whole rock star image, as it almost inevitably leads down a path of self destruction through drugs, alcohol and whatnot, mentioning that he still has to go home, as touring takes its toll, pay the bills, take care of his kid, shovel the driveway etc. It is always great to learn that one of your musical heroes (at least to me, being a musician) just wants to be treated like a regular guy, and does not want to be this rock star god persona that so many people are, being jerks to their fans. It's also great that he's Canadian as well.
Afterwards, John, Zach and I went to the Bell Province down the street to grab some food and wait for the show to start. We got in just as the first opening act was finishing their set, but they really only played around 3-4 songs from what I heard, not getting much time or sound in.
Today I Caught the Plague:
This band was an interesting metal/hardcore style band hailing from Ottawa, Ontario. Musically they are fairly technical, in a similar vein as Protest the Hero, however I was not a big fan of the vocals, for I could not understand a word he said when screaming, and the first words of the first song sounded like he was screaming: "YABABABA BABABAAOOOWWW!"Which does not sit well with me, personally. Though he did look a lot like Guile from the Street Fighter series of videogames.
Tesseract:
These guys are a great band from England, playing some awesome Progressive style metal. Immediately when the band started playing I got a huge Meshuggah vibe from them, and was immediately skeptical, as I've heard several bands that try to be exactly like their influences but just come off as terrible, because it is not their own music. However, they stray quite a bit from Meshuggah's sound, with more melodic moments, but keeping with seemingly sporadic rhythms chugging through, with some amazing breakdowns here and there. Very nice people as well, as I had a small chat with them at one point after their set, waiting for Devin to come on. Definitely check these guys out and buy their EP, or a tshirt, or both.
Devin Townsend Project:
Devin Townsend is one of my heroes, as I said before, and his show was just another reason why. After meeting the man, with his calm friendly nature, it was like there was an almost completely different man on stage, in a blazer, acting crazy on stage, with his high screams, low growls and almost operatic singing. He played a number of songs both heavy and not so heavy from all his albums with the Devin Townsend Project, before mentioning that he was going to play his obligatory "last song," go offstage with the band for five minutes, then come back on for an encore (as a side note, I loved the fact that he mentioned this, as it is very true, there really is no point for a band to say its their last song anymore, everyone knows they're going to come back for an encore, it seems they just want to stroke their egos via the crowd cheering). It was great to hear the first encore song, as it was one of his older songs, "Earth Day." It was all in all a great show in a small venue. If you ever get the chance to see Devin Townsend, you definitely should, he really is a big joker.
Show #2: December 9th, 2010:
So here's a bit of back story to this. Originally, I saw Rammstein in Quebec City this summer, and was not entirely bummed out when I found out they sold out their Montreal (my hometown, a three hour drive away from Quebec City) show in under an hour. However, three days before the show, my friend Tomas asked me if I wanted to go see them, as he had an extra ticket. I immediately jumped at the occasion, and proceeded to listen to Rammstein until the day of the show. They played at the Bell Center, which is an alright venue, the sound really is hit or miss, luckily the sound was brilliant that night.
Combichrist:
This was an odd band, the singer looking like something out of a video game wearing all black with some white body paint, and a false metallic spinal chord at his back, blowing white powder here and there. These guys were good, though not exactly a group I would go out of my way to see, rather listen to at home, or in a bar. They have a nice sound of industrial/electro metal, sort of like a heavier Nine Inch Nails at times, though their singer could use some tips from Trent Reznor, in my opinion. Their stage presence was good, but the lights they used were a bit much, their strobe lights were much too strong and overbearing, as I had to look away at times before they gave me a massive headache.
Rammstein:
Honestly, I don't know where to begin. This is a band I have been listening to since I was 14, and have wanted to see live since then. I got my first chance to see them in Quebec City, which in and of itself was an amazing show with Apocalyptica. Make no mistake, I loved seeing them live, but this show at the Bell Center was much, much better for a number of reasons. One of them being, even though I was not on the floor, the amount of people blocking my view was significantly less so, as the crowd at Quebec City was apparently around 120,000 people, whereas the Bell Center capacity is something around 13,000, and when standing at an elevated level I could see so much more than I could when mostly spending my time looking at the giant screens in Quebec. The sound was much clearer, and the pyrotechnics just that much more amazing, with a slight difference in sets, the final song of the encore was Engel, in which Till came out in angel wings, spouting fire and exploding at points in the song. It is also always intense watching them bust out the face-mounted flame throwers. I really can't say much more than it was intense and amazing. See them, if you can.
