Review & photos by Andrew Bansal, video by Matt Nielson
December 16th 2014, The Mayan, Los Angeles CA: Devin Townsend, the most eccentric musical personality Canada has ever produced, has enjoyed a highly prolific year of creativity in 2014, and is currently approaching the end of his ‘Abstract Reality’ North American co-headline tour with Los Angeles instrumental prog trio Animals As Leaders, along with UK-based Monuments as the opening act. The trifecta reached Los Angeles for a gig at the Mayan Theatre downtown. The event promised to bring together three diverse interpretations of modern progressive music, by three artists at very different stages of their respective careers.
LA prog fans braved the rain to form a long queue outside the venue hours before the show. Much to everyone’s relief, doors opened at 7 and people swiftly packed the interiors of this grand, beautiful theatre. The most noticeable aspect of this venue is the clear separation between the general admission floor and the ‘drinking area’ near the bar in the back. No alcohol is allowed on the GA floor, and very deliberate efforts are made by their staff to ensure that the under-21 attendees do not go anywhere near the bar. It’s a smart system that ensures cleanliness and decorum, and more venues should follow the Mayan’s example in this regard.
The gig got underway at 8 PM with Monuments taking the stage for a high-octane 30-minute set. With heavy grooves and rhythms that compelled many in the crowd to get their feet off the ground, and with exemplary vocal delivery of both clean and harsh varieties by frontman Chris Barretto, Monuments were an apt representation of the modern prog style of musicianship in abundance amongst new bands today. Barretto’s interactions with the audience went a long way towards winning them over, as he jumped over the barricade to dive into the crowd several times. Him making the crowd sit down on the floor and then jump up together for the start of one particular song was perhaps the highlight of the performance. Besides, he brought out the saxophone for the last song of the set to make it a well-rounded set exhibiting the band’s musical repertoire.
Monuments links: facebook | twitter | instagram
Next up, Animals As Leaders began their set at 9 PM and put forth a full hour of instrumental wizardry, complimented excellently by the stunning array of visuals projected on the giant screen in the backdrop. In comparison to the previous several times they’ve come through town, this was the biggest LA stage they’ve played, and their set was definitely enhanced by the higher production values they were able to incorporate here. Musically, the self-titled debut album remains my favorite and hence the songs played off of it were the most enjoyable ones from my perspective, but the talent decorating the material on their second and third albums is absolutely undeniable, and when experienced along with the visuals, it’s almost impossible to be unimpressed. While guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes were at the top of their game as expected, drummer Matt Garstka was the one to take the crowd’s collective breath away with his insane demonstration of technique and timing behind the kit. The size and layout of the stage also enabled the audience to get a proper look at the drummer, for a change. In addition, Monuments’ Chris Barretto joined them on the saxophone for ‘Physical Education’ which lent a different dimension to the tune. From being the 9th band on the Summer Slaughter 2010 bill to co-headlining with Devin Townsend in 2014, Animals As Leaders have traveled a great journey of success, and in a short time, but this performance came across as the best this city has seen from them. Judging by the discussions occurring in the audience immediately after the set, fans of the band seem to be in agreement.
Check out more photos of Animals As Leaders from the gig using the slideshow below, and to view their downloadable versions or if you’re on a non-Flash device, click here:
Animals As Leaders links: facebook | twitter | instagram
Set List:
01. Tooth And Claw
02. Tempting Time
03. Wave Of Babies
04. Ka$cade
05. Lippincott
06. Air Chrysalis
07. Point To Point
08. The Price Of Everything And The Value Of Nothing / Behaving Badly
09. Espera
10. Physical Education
11. The Woven Web
12. Weightless
13. CAFO
Shortly after, Devin Townsend stepped onto the stage with his band mates, amidst the loudest cheers of the evening, and with his introductory speech alone he captured the audience’s undivided attention and admiration. From that point on, the level of excitement in this building kept rising with every song played. The epic double concept album ‘Z2’ was released earlier this year, and a majority of this 75-minute set comprised material from it. On paper, a longtime Devin Townsend fan might have been disappointed upon looking at the set list for this tour, but the reality is quite the opposite. When witnessed in full real-life HD with the added elements of the great man’s on-stage humor and the incredible visuals in the backdrop, these new songs come across as enjoyable as anything from the Devin Townsend catalog. But of course, older tunes like ‘Grace’ and ‘Kingdom’ garnered the best reaction from the fans and things reached a crescendo when these two were played back-to-back towards the end of the set.
Check out a video of ‘Kingdom’ from the show:
Every single person in the audience was in awe of the Devin Townsend show, and some even equated attending the show to worship. Very rarely does a musician break out of a successful heavy metal band and achieves the same level of success in his solo career, but Devin Townsend remains a glorious exception to the norm and several decades down the line, he may well be remembered more for the solo material than any of his other contributions.
Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of his on-stage personality was his mimicry of all things ‘heavy metal’, in the crowd banter and some of his stage moves. Not only because of his spoofs but because of his overall presence and demeanor on stage, Devin Townsend is the complete antithesis of the typical heavy metal frontman, yet he is as big of an inspirational figure to heavy metal frontmen as anyone going around. To say that Devin Townsend’s goofy yet intelligent and articulate form of live music entertainment is second to none would be an understatement and a half.
Check out more photos of Devin Townsend from the gig using the slideshow below, and to view their downloadable versions or if you’re on a non-Flash device, click here:
Devin Townsend links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
Set List:
01. Regulator
02. Rejoice
03. Midnight Sun
04. War
05. A New Reign
06. Z2
07. March Of The Poozers
08. Ziltoidian Empire
09. Bad Devil
10. Ziltoid Goes Home
11. Grace
12. Kingdom
Encore:
13. Deathray
Remaining Tour Dates:
12/17 – San Francisco CA – Regency Ballroom
The Mayan links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram