Canadian metal-ist Devin Townsend and his band kicked off their
1999 tour in their hometown of Vancouver February 5th at the
Starfish Room. What seemed like half the population of the town
packed into the club for a rare treat they'll not soon forget.
Led by mastermind Devin, the band consisted of Strapping members
Byron Stroud (bass), Gene Hoglan (drums of death), Jed Simon(more
guitar), as well as Jason Filipchuk (on loan from Frontline
Assembly)and Jamie Meyers providingthe "solid walls of sound" on
keyboards to assist in presenting the newer songs in all
their
splendor. And of course the inimitable Devin providing vocals in
a way no other can-( he's never sounded better) along with his
signature Telecaster stinging & wailing at full bore, tearing
through the crowd's heads.
The first half of the sold-out show featured tunes from the Ocean
Machine CD Biomech as well as material from the newest CD Infinity.
The set opened with Unity playing on the PA as the band took position
onstage,where they proceeded to rip into Seventh Wave (which literally
raised my neck hairs), Regulator (with "middle bit"),Truth,
War,the irrepressible Christeen, Bad Devil, and the set closed with
a bone-
chilling dose of Hide Nowhere. These songs were executed so well that
I'd
put them up against the studio versions. Definitely a royal treat to
hear this
stuff.
After a short intermission they returned with a full-on Strapping
Young Lad set- in all it's wicked glory- featuring Velvet Kevorkian,
All Hail The New Flesh, Home Nucleonics, Oh My Fucking God, SYL, In
The Rainy Season (appropriate for that night), Far Beyond Metal, and
finished with Detox (oh, yeah- and the Bonus Track from Biomech) All
in all one of the best shows I've seen in a long time, and well worth
traveling from Portland to experience.
The players all shined immaculately, both collectively and individually.
Hearing the OM material done by Strapping Young Lad blew everyone away,
and I can honestly say I've seen SYL through new eyes.As far as SYL
itself
....they just keep on getting better. I can't wait to see them again!
Perhaps
in the USA next time........
Bob Cooper