There is nothing like a dismal, cold, rainy spring night to put you in the mood for some progressive metal. Of course the atmospheric conditions screwed up traffic royally (and it might have also been the NHL playoffs in Boston at the time), and that wrecked many a commute out to Worcester, MA for this epic show. Usually I am out to the venue early to see people and chat with bands, but on this night it was a struggle for me and my girlfriend to get to the venue on time. By the time we got there there was an unprecedented double line around the venue, waiting in the rain, just for will-call. This caused hundreds of people waiting to get in to miss Kvelertak and the start of Gojira. What a bummer for us. Weather permitting or not, I’ll be early next time a show of this stature comes to town, since this was a near sell out. Never again.
So we go into the venue in time to hear Gojira’s second song ‘The Heaviest Matter of The Universe’, and it was killer. Gojira is a brilliant band and the place was absolutely enthralled with them. Commanding the crowd from center stage, Joe Duplantier was the absolute master of the moment on this night. The audience hung on his every word and movement, and this was best crowd I have ever seen for this band. The mosh pit looked brutal and everyone in the room was singing along to songs like ‘Backbone’, and ‘Flying Whales’. Joe’s brother Mario is just godly on the drums and the band was tight as can be in the short, but amazing set. Closing with ‘Oroborus’, Gojira reminded all in attendance that they are an upper-echelon modern metal band: harsh enough to satisfy the most stringent fan of brutal bands, but tuneful and progressive enough to earn respect. Gojira is a band that as Slayer found out recently, is nearly impossible to follow for even the greatest of bands.
The change over for Mastodon seemed to take forever, which was disappointing considering how sparse the stage set ups were. Still the show started early, and Mastodon hit the stage by 9:30. When the lights came up a roar let out, that signified that despite some unpopular (or popular depending on your tastes) turns in their career, a lot of people are still down for Mastodon. I was a little surprised the crowd filled in even more and had not thinned at all after Gojira. Meanwhile, Mastodon opened with the cool choice of ‘Hearts Alive’ which is not only a fine way to start the show, it added throwback feeling to the night. Crafting a slick set list of recent hits and old favorites, the band rocked all night long like the seasoned veterans they are. Usually as Brent Hinds goes, so goes the band. Tonight he was lazer-focused and brilliant, and the band followed suit. This made this one of the top times I have ever seen the band.
The band usually doesn’t waste time talking to the crowd until the end of the night. Basically they ran the through the set in a professional manner, mixing better known songs like ‘Crystal Skull’ with deep cuts like ‘Siberian Divide’ and ‘Naked Burn’. Some nights the bands’ ambitious writing causes the band to struggle to replicate the sound of their albums, but on this night everyone sounded strong as could be. Since they past the mid-way point in the tour, but Troy Sanders sounded especially great tonight, especially on his upper-register lines. Although a lot of fans were concerned with the set list ahead of the show, I thought this was one of the better set lists I have heard in the dozen plus times I have seen this band. Not only was there less reliance on the material from The Hunter (Warner Bros), for the first time ever, I felt that even without their best known songs such as ‘Iron Tusk’ and ‘March of The Fire Ants’, they were able to put on a satisfying, highly entertaining show. Bring on the new album and more tours, please!
Mastodon Set List:
Hearts Alive
Divinations
Crusher Destroyer
Capillarian Crest
Black Tongue
Bladecatcher
Crystal Skull
Siberian Divide
Naked Burn
Megalodon
Oblivion
Blasteroid
Chimes at Midnight
High Road
Bedazzled Fingernails
Aqua Dementia
The Sparrow
KEITH CHAHCHKES