Devin Townsend
6th September 2019
The Hollywood Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review and photography by Sarah Kidd.
Life inside the mind of Devin Townsend is a wonderous thing. It’s a place where compositions are constantly being written, where thoughts of boobies fight with the more logical side of not wanting to objectify the woman he considers his buddy and memories of gluing his very own skullet onto a puppet much to the concern of his mother still draw his mouth into a smile.
Last night, cocooned within the warm embrace of a venue whose walls hold more than a few stories of their own, Devin Townsend armed with little more than a laptop and an acoustic guitar delivered a show that was quintessentially Devin and a once in a lifetime experience for those lucky enough to have secured a ticket.
Described as ‘An Evening with Devin Townsend’, what his fans were gifted was so much more, Devin – by his own admission – a person that reacts to his surroundings; a jaunt across his extensive back catalogue and Q&A session often segueing into personal anecdotes and direct conversations with the audience. That’s when he wasn’t conducting them through death metal backing vocals.
Since releasing his tenth solo album entitled Empath – a record that many critics are referring to as a work of genius, Devin has been performing his ‘evening with’ tours in support, last night being the first show of this current leg. Arriving on stage in a simple grey hoodie, Devin proceeded to trade jokes with the audience as he tuned his guitar, his devotees cheering him on as he made a performance of erotically sliding off his beanie and tossing his glasses to the side.
‘Let it Roll’ from the 2006 album Synchestra soon shapeshifted across the room, Devin’s vocals absolutely exhilarating as he moved through the octaves, his formidable vocal range, a feature of his work that has always been awe-inspiring, holding the audience as if time itself had paused to admire him.
Following it up with ‘Funeral’, a track written for a friend who had passed, Devin brought a reverence to the stage before unleashing the popular Strapping Young Lad track ‘Love?’ on his fans complete with innuendos and hilarious facial expressions.
Between tracks, he jested with the audience, retorts delivered with lightning speed, humility and honesty an integral part of the Canadian musicians’ repertoire. It is refreshing to find an artist so willing to lay themselves bare, and while Devin has always been an open book when it comes to his art and current position in life, both Empath – as discussed in a recent interview with Ambient Light – and the acoustic tours a further exploration of both his own fears and motivations for creating music.
An unforgettable version of ‘Deadhead’, Devin’s opera-esque vocals erupting into his trademark screams, the popular ‘IH-AH!’ and ‘Why?’ – the only track to feature from Empath soon followed; interludes of Baby-Shark complete with hand actions and talk of koalas being turned into guacamole popping up in between. The evening a rollercoaster of captivating thrills and hilarity.
The Q&A session just before intermission involved Devin answering questions that had been submitted prior to the event, the subject matter often ranging from requests for him to name one admirers first-born child through to enquiries on his work and vocal training, Devin often adding his own touch with additional narratives.
The second half of the show yielded gems in the form of a cover of ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Misérables and ‘Thing Beyond Things’ a track that Devin wrote when he was just eighteen years old, the musical component of the show ending with the magnificent ‘Life’ from Ocean Machine:Biomech.
By the end of the evening Devin wore a smile wider than the aisles themselves, his words of thanks to the audience for not only truly listening to him but for making the night one that he thoroughly enjoyed and that left him feeling “really happy” met with rapturous applause. True to both his word and his nature, he later returned to meet with his fans, each and every one greeted with genuine care and concern.
As Devin had asked earlier in the evening; “Why bother being empathetic in a world that rewards cruelty?” the answer from a fan summing up both the event and life itself perfectly, “To counteract it”.
Were you there at The Hollywood Theatre for this magnificent acoustic gig? Or have you seen Devin Townsend perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Let It Roll
- Funeral
- Love?
- Deadhead
- IH-AH!
- Why?
- Coast
- Hyperdrive!
- Solar Winds
- Sister
- Bring Him Home [Les Misérables cover]
- Terminal
- Thing Beyond Things
- Life
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