DEVIN TOWNSEND raises money for hospitals in his Christmas PJS.
HOME STUDIO, VANCOUVER
Metal’s astral reveller raises the spirits – and a load of cash
IT’S 8PM ON
a Saturday night, but midday in Vancouver, and Devin Townsend is wearing pyjama bottoms. But these are not just any pyjama bottoms. These are Christmas pyjama bottoms featuring bears wearing Santa hats. If we didn’t know Devin was eccentric, we would seriously wonder whether he had descended into lockdown madness.
This is the third gig in his Quarantine Concert Series – live shows streamed from his home studio, each benefitting hospitals in Vancouver, the UK (where he raised £65K for the NHS) and New York respectively. He has a quaint ‘Quarantine’ sign, each primaryschool-style bubbly letter cut out of paper, and has several cameras mounted in unusual places – including an iphone that pans the room attached to a bladeless fan – which he switches between using an Xbox controller. Toys, water bottles and toilet rolls are strewn around. It’s a strangely intimate set-up, but not a million miles away from the acoustic tour he did last year.
We get a gentle start with Spirits Will Collide, before he switches into the colossally heavy Aftermath and Ziltoid’s face pops up onscreen. “Yes, you hippies, this is the last show. Let’s play some metal, indeed!” he proclaims. The ‘tipping’ function on tonight’s Stageit platform suddenly gets a fuck-ton of use. Devin’s voice sounds incredible, proving once again he doesn’t need elaborate stage set-ups and props (although those are stupid amounts of fun). But Ziltoid still isn’t happy: “There was not enough Ziltoid in that particular brand of metal.” Out comes a thundering By Your Command.
There’s another rapid shift for Deep Peace – tonight has arguably the quietest and the loudest extremes of all three gigs – and as he sings, ‘It’s alright to cry, it’s alright to lean on everyone’, the quarantine sign flashes up. People in the comments column start listing where they’re from – Turin, Norway, Belgium, Columbus, Malta, Miami, Dallas, Finland – and there’s a genuine feeling of connectedness. The Greys is spine-tingling; six weeks into pandemic life, Devin makes you feel all the feels. “My eyes are leaking again”, someone comments.
There’s a slamming Detox, before Devin picks up a plush frog, stuffs it down his top and starts playing the trippy Frogs Are Nice. Literally no one else could pull this shit off. An acoustic version of Life is especially poignant in these times, and it’s another eye-leaker. Finishing with well wishes for healthcare workers and his audience, Devin holds up a note bearing the words ‘CALM DOWN’ with a heart drawn on it. We’d bet most people watching feel a lot better already. ELEANOR GOODMAN
What’s the worst thing about being in a band?
“Getting ill on tour. As a lead singer, you get paranoid about your health. But, whatever you do, you’ll always get sick anyway. There’s nothing you can really do about it. It’s fucking frustrating, especially if you are on tour in the States and the sun is shining, but you’re dying of tour flu inside your bus.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? “‘Shut up and be fashionable.’ I heard this line at a festival in the early 90s. It was said by some drunken metal brother, who was throwing killer one-liners, making us laugh like hell! He was wandering around the camping area trying to watch people have sex in random tents. He kept asking, “Have you ever been in Turkish prison?” A drunken genius!”
When was the first time you felt like a rock star?
“When we first arrived in the U.S. A Hummer limo picked us up from the airport. I thought, ‘Wow, so this is how it feels to be in a band!’ But it didn’t last long. The first venue was a shithole in suburbia. They even didn’t have a PA system there. I also lost my voice after the first show. It was a horrible experience.”
When was the last time you cried? “Six months ago. My dad had some health issues. I was sad and really worried about him.”
What’s been your worst experience on drugs?
“I don’t have any personal experience. I’ve seen a lot of people on drugs during the years and there’s no glory on that. I have my own problems already, so I don’t need anything else to fuck up my life even more.”
What’s been Amorphis’s biggest Spinal Tap moment?
“We use in-ear monitors when we’re playing live, and they can be very loud.
“THERE WAS A BIKER CASTLE PARTY”