Devin Townsend (10) is an artist who tends to split opinion. Some people love him others don’t get him at all, or the adulation that those who do get him, feel for him. I must admit that for years I didn’t get him, but after hearing my friends go on about how good he was, I bought a few albums, gave them some time, repeated listens, and discovered a consummate musical virtuoso. I’ve been a fan ever since. The last few months have been very kind to Devin fans. Empath has been out for a while, and we have all had time to absorb it and revel in its genius. Just as we are digesting one of the most complex, detailed, beautiful, powerful, huge, tiny, breathtaking and silliest of albums, the ‘An Evening With Devin Townsend’ tour rolls into town.
A tour with just Devin, an acoustic guitar and a microphone. Stripped of the huge bombast, massive sound and production that we have come to expect from Devin Townsend playing live. Some may have been nervous of such a stripped down production, but I think a lot of his fans are intelligent enough to realise that to produce such massively complex, multifaceted albums, you have to be a very talented musician. To see that musician in a small venue, up close and personal, is such an enticing prospect. The excitement amongst Devin fans was palpable.
St George's in Bristol was built in the 1820’s by architect Sir Robert Smirke (that's not a joke, the architects name was genuinely Smirke). It was a church up until 1999, when it was converted to a concert venue, usually hosting chamber music, light opera and jazz. However, on Friday the 26th of April, the former church was filled with metalheads (on their best behaviour). St George's is a beautiful venue, with amazing acoustics and was a perfect venue for Devin Townsend to do an acoustic gig with a question and answer session.
The stage at St George's was as sparse as you’ll see it with Devin Townsend. Just one microphone, 2 acoustic guitars (Devin only used one of these, I assume the second guitar was simply a back up, in case of a broken string, or other issue), a sampler and a chair. After the lights lowered, Devin was welcomed onto stage with rapturous applause. He said hi, and we got a few minutes of chat and jokes as he set his guitar up, and got comfortable on stage. He talked about what was coming up and the idea behind the show, stating that “all the songs start this way”, just an acoustic guitar and a voice. The acoustics in St George's are pretty near perfect, so the sound carried really well, and everything sounded so good. The guitar tone was stunning, and Devin’s voice was simply phenomenal. In fact at one point, as the acoustics were so good that he could hear himself with such crystal clear clarity, Devin said that he was second guessing how to sing. The acoustics of St George's are so good they caused Devin Townsend to have an existential crisis about how to, and whether or not, he could sing. Damn, that’s good acoustics!
The structure of the night was fairly loose, Devin played songs and chatted for the first half, there was a break and then the second half featured only 3 songs, with the rest of the time taken up with a question and answer session.
Musically the night was amazing. Playing songs from all over his career, the setlist was large and varied. We got several tracks from Ocean Machine, Funeral in particular was outstanding, the whole audience was entranced. Which is a point; I have become a little annoyed with the behaviour of audiences at gigs over the last few years, particularity talking during performances. I had no complaints with this audience, there wasn’t a sound when Devin was playing, the respect was palpable. All the material came across well in acoustic form. The tracks he played from Addicted worked so well acoustically. Ih-Ah! in particular was exquisite. I couldn’t help singing along as quietly as I could (so I didn’t spoil my neighbours enjoyment with my enjoyment). The pleasure of this simple little song, being performed in such a minimalist way was huge, it was so delicate and beautiful.
Another surprise was how great Love?, the Strapping Young Lad song, was in an acoustic form. It gave the song an aspect that I’ve never really heard before, a softer edge that fitted so well with the lyrical themes of the song. Deadhead was another song that was breathtaking as an acoustic track. There was a collective sigh from the audience as the final notes drifted away into the firmament. The setting, the amazing acoustics, the stunning material and performance combined to make something awe-inspiring. I think everyone in the audience was aware they were taking part in something very special.
However, it wasn’t all beautiful, delicate and exquisite. It wouldn’t be Devin Townsend without some silliness, fart jokes and fun. So, we also got a fantastically ‘loose’ version of Why? from Empath, followed by an explanation of why it is essential that he doesn’t learn the track properly, despite what his management and record company might think. On several tracks he played the guitar, whilst humming the bass or keyboard track along with himself, at some points ‘playing’ 3 or 4 instruments. which was pretty impressive. At one point he found some German Techno on his sampler and played it to us, which was nice. He then found the Mr Blobby song, which was an interesting juxtaposition with all the exquisite beauty. There was lots of messing about and bad jokes, the feeling in the room was incredibly warm and friendly, and everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time. And then, in a flash, it was time for the intermission. Nearly an hour and a half had flown by.
After a short break, we re-took our seats for the second half, which was mainly a question and answer session. After one song (Bring Him Home from Les Miserables - Ed), Devin put his guitar down, moved the mic stand and the sampler, and sat down to answer questions that had been submitted in writing at the merchandise stall. The questions covered a wide range of subjects, some serious, some silly. So, things kicked off with a question about the name of the octopus from the Genesis video. As it turns out, the octopus didn’t have a name, so Devin named him Tim, after the asker of the question. There was more silliness like that all through the section. Devin was asked about his (disgusting) hair. After being asked which his favourite animal was, and if it was lucky, he introduced us to Super Sloth, a sloth super hero soft toy that he had been given in Germany, that had shared the stage with him all night. He was asked about his Netflix recommendations (I’m afraid I don’t have Netflix, so it didn’t mean that much to me, some stuff he likes, some, not so much). He was asked about the story of the little bird, which features on the track Sprite from the album Empath, which was a story his Mum recorded him telling when he was 4! Clearly creative from an early age.
St George's in Bristol was built in the 1820’s by architect Sir Robert Smirke (that's not a joke, the architects name was genuinely Smirke). It was a church up until 1999, when it was converted to a concert venue, usually hosting chamber music, light opera and jazz. However, on Friday the 26th of April, the former church was filled with metalheads (on their best behaviour). St George's is a beautiful venue, with amazing acoustics and was a perfect venue for Devin Townsend to do an acoustic gig with a question and answer session.
The stage at St George's was as sparse as you’ll see it with Devin Townsend. Just one microphone, 2 acoustic guitars (Devin only used one of these, I assume the second guitar was simply a back up, in case of a broken string, or other issue), a sampler and a chair. After the lights lowered, Devin was welcomed onto stage with rapturous applause. He said hi, and we got a few minutes of chat and jokes as he set his guitar up, and got comfortable on stage. He talked about what was coming up and the idea behind the show, stating that “all the songs start this way”, just an acoustic guitar and a voice. The acoustics in St George's are pretty near perfect, so the sound carried really well, and everything sounded so good. The guitar tone was stunning, and Devin’s voice was simply phenomenal. In fact at one point, as the acoustics were so good that he could hear himself with such crystal clear clarity, Devin said that he was second guessing how to sing. The acoustics of St George's are so good they caused Devin Townsend to have an existential crisis about how to, and whether or not, he could sing. Damn, that’s good acoustics!
The structure of the night was fairly loose, Devin played songs and chatted for the first half, there was a break and then the second half featured only 3 songs, with the rest of the time taken up with a question and answer session.
Musically the night was amazing. Playing songs from all over his career, the setlist was large and varied. We got several tracks from Ocean Machine, Funeral in particular was outstanding, the whole audience was entranced. Which is a point; I have become a little annoyed with the behaviour of audiences at gigs over the last few years, particularity talking during performances. I had no complaints with this audience, there wasn’t a sound when Devin was playing, the respect was palpable. All the material came across well in acoustic form. The tracks he played from Addicted worked so well acoustically. Ih-Ah! in particular was exquisite. I couldn’t help singing along as quietly as I could (so I didn’t spoil my neighbours enjoyment with my enjoyment). The pleasure of this simple little song, being performed in such a minimalist way was huge, it was so delicate and beautiful.
Another surprise was how great Love?, the Strapping Young Lad song, was in an acoustic form. It gave the song an aspect that I’ve never really heard before, a softer edge that fitted so well with the lyrical themes of the song. Deadhead was another song that was breathtaking as an acoustic track. There was a collective sigh from the audience as the final notes drifted away into the firmament. The setting, the amazing acoustics, the stunning material and performance combined to make something awe-inspiring. I think everyone in the audience was aware they were taking part in something very special.
However, it wasn’t all beautiful, delicate and exquisite. It wouldn’t be Devin Townsend without some silliness, fart jokes and fun. So, we also got a fantastically ‘loose’ version of Why? from Empath, followed by an explanation of why it is essential that he doesn’t learn the track properly, despite what his management and record company might think. On several tracks he played the guitar, whilst humming the bass or keyboard track along with himself, at some points ‘playing’ 3 or 4 instruments. which was pretty impressive. At one point he found some German Techno on his sampler and played it to us, which was nice. He then found the Mr Blobby song, which was an interesting juxtaposition with all the exquisite beauty. There was lots of messing about and bad jokes, the feeling in the room was incredibly warm and friendly, and everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time. And then, in a flash, it was time for the intermission. Nearly an hour and a half had flown by.
After a short break, we re-took our seats for the second half, which was mainly a question and answer session. After one song (Bring Him Home from Les Miserables - Ed), Devin put his guitar down, moved the mic stand and the sampler, and sat down to answer questions that had been submitted in writing at the merchandise stall. The questions covered a wide range of subjects, some serious, some silly. So, things kicked off with a question about the name of the octopus from the Genesis video. As it turns out, the octopus didn’t have a name, so Devin named him Tim, after the asker of the question. There was more silliness like that all through the section. Devin was asked about his (disgusting) hair. After being asked which his favourite animal was, and if it was lucky, he introduced us to Super Sloth, a sloth super hero soft toy that he had been given in Germany, that had shared the stage with him all night. He was asked about his Netflix recommendations (I’m afraid I don’t have Netflix, so it didn’t mean that much to me, some stuff he likes, some, not so much). He was asked about the story of the little bird, which features on the track Sprite from the album Empath, which was a story his Mum recorded him telling when he was 4! Clearly creative from an early age.
There were also some interruptions from the crowd.
At one point a woman in the audience shouted out that her husband had an illustration of Devin, that he wanted to give to him. Her husband then started walking up to the stage. I must admit to feeling a little nervous when this was happening, and Devin looked a little nervous as well. Was Devin about to be given a rubbish drawing, and have to pretend to be impressed, sending the evening off on to a rather embarrassing tangent? No, thank god! I turned out that the husband was a very talented artist, and even from my seat quite near the back, I could see a very realistic rendering of Devin done in pastels. So that was all alright.
Another slightly unusual question was one audience member asking Devin to phone a friend of his who was meant to go to the gig, but had to miss it due to ill health. This wasn’t really possible as the person was in the balcony, so instead of that the man recorded Devin saying hello to his friend on his phone, and would play it to them at a later date. Probably the silliest part of the second half, was someone called ‘Steve’ asking Devin to pause the show so he could have a piss. Devin humoured weak bladdered ‘Steve’ by playing another song from Addicted, and adding ‘Steve’ to the end of each line. Although it was quite funny, and Devin handled everything in a very genial way, and we got an extra song out if it; I was a little irritated that someone was that self-indulgent. I seem to remember he was talking about some interesting stuff, before he was interrupted by ‘Steve’.
All the fun and silly parts of the evening were great, and I enjoyed them immensely, but there is a serious side to Devin Townsend, and I found the more serious aspects of the question and answer part fascinating.
He talked about LA, and why he never successfully managed to stay there. It’s the weather, he grew up in Vancouver, and has lived in Britain, so he’s used to seasons, and you don’t get them in LA. He also said that rain helped him be creative which I thought was incredibly interesting. He was asked about how he was seen by his fans. Devin said that he didn’t like being put on a pedestal by people, although he also understood that his music means a huge amount to some of his fans (something that means a huge amount to him). He went on to explain that if he thinks about how people will react to his music, it makes him constantly second guess himself, which isn’t good for creativity. He said he made music to try to understand himself, and deal with his personal issues. What relates and matters to Devin, is likely to relate and matter to his audience. We are all human beings, after all, so dealing with personal issues means he is connecting with his audience; through the universality of human experience (although I am paraphrasing, I think Devin worded it better).
Devin did talk about mental health, and briefly mentioned friends lost to suicide. I must admit that as someone who has clinical depression, Devin’s openness about mental illness and depression means a lot to me. I first remember hearing about this in about 2009, so he’s been doing it for quite a long time now. There is a huge stigma attached to mental illness, which often stops people from seeking help, or being honest about whether they are coping or not. Every time someone like Devin talks publicly in interviews or to live audiences about mental health, they are removing some of that stigma. It helps to normalise metal health issues, and allows sufferers to feel less self conscious about asking for help. Devin’s honesty about his own experiences helps to inform and educate those without mental health issues, and acts as a beacon of solidarity and understanding for those with mental health issues. I was touched by his honesty, and would like to take this opportunity to thank him for it. I felt as if I understood, and felt more connected to Devin and his music after experiencing this.
At one point a woman in the audience shouted out that her husband had an illustration of Devin, that he wanted to give to him. Her husband then started walking up to the stage. I must admit to feeling a little nervous when this was happening, and Devin looked a little nervous as well. Was Devin about to be given a rubbish drawing, and have to pretend to be impressed, sending the evening off on to a rather embarrassing tangent? No, thank god! I turned out that the husband was a very talented artist, and even from my seat quite near the back, I could see a very realistic rendering of Devin done in pastels. So that was all alright.
Another slightly unusual question was one audience member asking Devin to phone a friend of his who was meant to go to the gig, but had to miss it due to ill health. This wasn’t really possible as the person was in the balcony, so instead of that the man recorded Devin saying hello to his friend on his phone, and would play it to them at a later date. Probably the silliest part of the second half, was someone called ‘Steve’ asking Devin to pause the show so he could have a piss. Devin humoured weak bladdered ‘Steve’ by playing another song from Addicted, and adding ‘Steve’ to the end of each line. Although it was quite funny, and Devin handled everything in a very genial way, and we got an extra song out if it; I was a little irritated that someone was that self-indulgent. I seem to remember he was talking about some interesting stuff, before he was interrupted by ‘Steve’.
All the fun and silly parts of the evening were great, and I enjoyed them immensely, but there is a serious side to Devin Townsend, and I found the more serious aspects of the question and answer part fascinating.
He talked about LA, and why he never successfully managed to stay there. It’s the weather, he grew up in Vancouver, and has lived in Britain, so he’s used to seasons, and you don’t get them in LA. He also said that rain helped him be creative which I thought was incredibly interesting. He was asked about how he was seen by his fans. Devin said that he didn’t like being put on a pedestal by people, although he also understood that his music means a huge amount to some of his fans (something that means a huge amount to him). He went on to explain that if he thinks about how people will react to his music, it makes him constantly second guess himself, which isn’t good for creativity. He said he made music to try to understand himself, and deal with his personal issues. What relates and matters to Devin, is likely to relate and matter to his audience. We are all human beings, after all, so dealing with personal issues means he is connecting with his audience; through the universality of human experience (although I am paraphrasing, I think Devin worded it better).
Devin did talk about mental health, and briefly mentioned friends lost to suicide. I must admit that as someone who has clinical depression, Devin’s openness about mental illness and depression means a lot to me. I first remember hearing about this in about 2009, so he’s been doing it for quite a long time now. There is a huge stigma attached to mental illness, which often stops people from seeking help, or being honest about whether they are coping or not. Every time someone like Devin talks publicly in interviews or to live audiences about mental health, they are removing some of that stigma. It helps to normalise metal health issues, and allows sufferers to feel less self conscious about asking for help. Devin’s honesty about his own experiences helps to inform and educate those without mental health issues, and acts as a beacon of solidarity and understanding for those with mental health issues. I was touched by his honesty, and would like to take this opportunity to thank him for it. I felt as if I understood, and felt more connected to Devin and his music after experiencing this.
After about an hour and a half of fascinating chat, and jokes, the evening came to an end with one more song. Life was beautiful and soothing, and was a fantastic way to end a wonderful evening.
‘An Evening With Devin Townsend’ was a sublime experience. It was an evening of juxtapositions and contrasts. Beautiful music and fart noises, touching honesty and silly jokes, stories about snotty hair and probably the best voice I’ve ever heard live, a breathtakingly talented man and an attention seeking twat called ‘Steve’. I will remember this night, probably, for the rest of my life. It was so special, the beautiful venue, the incredible performance, laughing till my sides ached, and having a different perspective on some of my favourite music. It was amazing. I can’t wait to see Devin Townsend with a full band in Cardiff, in December. Although I’m not sure he can top what we experienced on Friday night. This was one of the best nights out I’ve ever had, thanks Devin, it was amazing!
‘An Evening With Devin Townsend’ was a sublime experience. It was an evening of juxtapositions and contrasts. Beautiful music and fart noises, touching honesty and silly jokes, stories about snotty hair and probably the best voice I’ve ever heard live, a breathtakingly talented man and an attention seeking twat called ‘Steve’. I will remember this night, probably, for the rest of my life. It was so special, the beautiful venue, the incredible performance, laughing till my sides ached, and having a different perspective on some of my favourite music. It was amazing. I can’t wait to see Devin Townsend with a full band in Cardiff, in December. Although I’m not sure he can top what we experienced on Friday night. This was one of the best nights out I’ve ever had, thanks Devin, it was amazing!
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