I don’t know Devin Townsend.
There, I said it.
Well, I don’t know him very well at least. I’ve heard a lot about him, have had him recommended several times, and have even listened a little to his many various bands and projects.
But even though I generally liked what I heard, nothing ever really got stuck or gave me an urge to delve deeper into this fascinating mind.
Devin Townsend is also probably the coolest guy you could ever hope to meet.
There, now I’ve also said that, so let’s get on with the review...

Devin Townsend, in the guise of his band Devin Townsend Project, was touring Europe with Fear Factory on their co-headlined Epic Industrialist tour, supporting both bands new albums (Epicloud by Devin Townsend Project and The Industrialist by Fear Factory).
This night, and for good reason I can’t say how the rest of the tour was set up, Devin Townsend was playing last, and after changing Fear Factory’s backdrop to a white sheet, we were presented with commercials, music videos and programs courtesy of Ziltoid TV, while the stage crew began setting up the stage for the upcoming concert. There were also clips of the Techno Viking and Gummy Bear.
What can I say, already before the show had begun, Townsend had won my heart, and had me laughing out loud in a room full of strangers!
Yes, the room was full; compared to the crowd Fear Factory had seen before, I’d say we were probably one third or one half part more in Amager Bio at the time of Devin Townsend Project, and people were clearly more enthusiastic about this artist than they had been the last one, strengthening my suspicion from before that the bulk of the crowd were only here for Townsend, and had little or no knowledge of Fear Factory...

Except for the video blanket in the back, which went on to be in heavy use during the entire concert, the stage also saw other distinguishing changes from before; each standing member of the band had gotten their own little podium built, and as they entered the stage to loud cheers from the crowd, they immediately took their places on them; Townsend in the middle of course, and the bearded men Dave Young (guitars) on the right and Brian Waddell (bass) on the left. For much of the concert the players stayed on their podiums, leaving little but headbanging in the way of performing, but once in a while they would go down and do something closer to the audience.
Especially Townsend was good at this, and I was amazed to see what an incredible attraction he had on the crowd – showing up dressed in a suit with slightly rolled up sleeves and no hair on his head, he didn’t exactly fit into the archetypal image of a metal god, but this was truly the spirit he was showing, and that’s what grabbed people more than anything I suppose.
Well, that, and his open and giving nature. There were several times when he spent time between songs to have a hearty chat with us, sometimes making little jokes (“there’re 0.2 percent women in here, that’s more than I’ve ever seen before!”), and at other times sharing what seemed to be glints of his more personal life and feelings. Among the latter was a moment when Townsend spoke about how weird it could be with touring, wanting to go up on stage and be personal and give yourself a hundred percent, but then just before going out you get a phone-call from home which completely messes you up. You still have to go out there, and after about two-three songs you shift gear and become more focused. He then ended by thanking us for sticking around for that long so we could see the show the way it was supposed to be.
I admit I hadn’t noticed anything special up to that point (of course, this was my first full show with him), but that last remark really made me think this was exactly what had happened today...
Townsend of course didn’t forget to mention his tour-mates in Fear Factory, taunting them for acting old and wanting to go to sleep, but ending it on a lighter note by saying he still loved them very much.

Musically, I knew the man and the band would be more than capable, but I was still happy to hear that the mixer guy had made an effort to really get something good out of the speakers. It wasn’t perfect, but for a live sound it was still very, very good, and it helped the songs a long way as I didn’t really know most of the material.
Still, the performance was gripping, the videos in the back (changing between official promo clips and regular video effects) helped to keep the visual side interesting. The songs varied between Devin Townsend Project, The Devin Townsend Band and Devin Townsend material; not that an untrained ear could hear a major difference in style, but that’s the way he went, and the groove was ever present.
For my part, I was especially glad to see that they had chosen to play the video clip for Vampira whilst also playing the song, as I find this video downright hilarious!

The best of all though, was that I don’t believe I have ever witnessed a metal concert with such a feel good and positive atmosphere! You just couldn’t help but smile and be happy throughout the entire gig, and it was amazing!
Lucky Animals showed us some sweet moves to use on the floor, and when it was time for an encore (explained by Townsend how it would work as they would leave and then we had to shout the band back, to which of course they would reply by entering again, and then they’d play some more), Devin Townsend Project began playing Kingdom but stopped again after only a few bars, promising he’d bring it the next time he came around. Instead, he mentioned that as we hadn’t heard anything from the Ziltoid album up to this point, it was time to get down with some of that material, after which they dished up with ZTO (only a snippet though, in which the crowd stood for the vocals (thank you Bjarne for the correction)) and then brought it down a bit with Deep Peace. The best part about this was the fact that these encore songs were truly improvised, in the sense that the setlist actually ended with Grace, which was the last song they played before leaving the first time around.
When the show was truly finished, there was the standard throwing of picks and sticks, after which Townsend left us with the words that it was great to see that in a crowd of grown men, some had decided to show up with a hand-puppet (yes, there was one of these) and really amazing hats (there was also one of these, not the same guy though).

It can come as no surprise to you that I, as well as the rest of Amager Bio, highly enjoyed the show. I still do not have a strong need to emerge myself in his albums for some reason, but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing him live again someday.
Now there is only one thing left to say;
It’s fun to dance to Devin Townsend!

Setlist:

Truth (Devin Townsend cover)
War (Devin Townsend cover)
Regulator (Devin Townsend cover)
Planet Of The Apes
Sunday Afternoon (The Devin Townsend Band cover)
Supercrush!
Life (Devin Townsend cover)
Vampira (The Devin Townsend Band cover)
Lucky Animals
Juular
Grace
Deep Peace (Devin Townsend cover)