Hevy Devy and the Projectmen were back in Copenhagen, once again gracing Amager Bio with their presence. There was no way we’d miss out on this, right?

“Are you ready? Wish me luck!”
- Devin Townsend (vocals/guitar)

The later February night was set in the sign of progressiveness, and DTP had brought two other famous acts with them as support, the Norwegian band Shining which really rocked the house to its foundations, and the U.S. band Periphery that played after them.
It was mainly DTP that the full, or nearly so, concert hall was interested in though, and if the previously mentioned bands had not managed to get the crowd going (which they had), we were given a long introduction by the main alien and Earth invader Ziltoid himself, via a large onstage video screen, which certainly did the job. All around me, the hand-puppet Ziltoid, which was on sale in the merchandise stand, was raised high and played with – while this was certainly a fun item to have, my undivided love went to the purple t-shirt which depicted Devin Townsend manically riding a bicycle on the front, and in bold letters stating “GET TO THE CHOPPER!” on the back.

Meanwhile, on stage the band were getting pumped and gearing up, ready to throw some truth in our faces.
The Ziltoid guitar that we had previously seen Townsend use at Wacken last year was again being used, and this time it could be seen to have lights inside of it. The show as a whole had a more stripped look though, without quite as many odd things in it as the band has been known to utilize in the past, and the band members seemed to have a more casual and laid back attitude than normal.
This wasn’t a bad thing though, as they were still just as much into the show and present in the here and now as they always have been in the past, and Townsend filled in possible blanks in the show with as many bad jokes as he could muster!
The setlist was nice and varied, and even though there was a lot of songs from the newly released Z2, featuring tracks from both the Devin Townsend Project – Sky Blue disc and the Devin Townsend – Dark Matters disc, there was still plenty of space left in the set for both older Devin Townsend material and a visit from The Devin Townsend Band. Personally, I had been in a real Lucky Animals mood leading up to the gig, but was really surprised at how well March Of The Poozers worked, the latter even ended up being my favourite part of the evening! The slightly operatic feel was lost, but the stomp was enormous!

“Cold and flus be damned, you wanna shake your ass and party!”
- Townsend (vocals/guitar)

The aforementioned song has a section with a countdown, and here most of the crowd was shouting along, so obviously the Copenhagen fans had had time to check out the new album.
The fans were not the most active physically perhaps, but damn how everyone enjoyed the show – the amazing atmosphere was thick as a brick! Even though DTP wasn’t garnering very much in the way of mosh- and circlepits, they did have a crowd which, much like the band members, seemed completely engulfed in the present – they hung on every word Townsend spoke between songs, shouted and sang along at every given opportunity, and even managed to produce a few lighters when asked for the Def Leppard (apparently) inspired 80ies classic rock ballad Ih-Ah!.
One person, couldn’t see if it was a guy or a gal, had even taken the time to create and gift-wrap a present for the good Mr Townsend, one which he took the time while wearing a somewhat blushed smile to open up, revealing a picture of some sort which made him happy, tying it nicely together with his comment about us all being tied together in our über social awkwardness…

“It’s a great experience being able to do this. Namaste!"
- Townsend (vocals/guitar)

During the usual break before the encore, Townsend stayed on the stage and talked while the rest of the band took a short break, and much in the same spirit he was almost impossible to leave when the band were done for the evening. Even though the lights had come on, and the crew had begun to dismantle the stage, Townsend still took his time to greet everyone personally who met up in front of the stage, shake hands and exchange polite words – heck, even when he ran out of picks to give away about halfway though, he just called for more! What else can you call that than a pleasant and down to earth fellow, who’s actually interested in making his fans feel appreciated? Good show, good guy, and most certainly a great evening!

Setlist:

Truth (Devin Townsend cover)
Deathray
Namaste (Devin Townsend cover)
Night (Devin Townsend cover)
Storm (The Devin Townsend Band cover)
Hyperdrive (Devin Townsend cover)
Rejoice
Addicted!
March Of The Poozers
A New Reign
Lucky Animals
Life (Devin Townsend cover)
Christeen (Devin Townsend cover)
Ih-Ah!
Kingdom (Devin Townsend cover)