It seemed like only two years ago, seeing Mastodon and Gojira perform a sidewave in Melbourne. Time is a flat circle, I guess (I just came up with that quote by myself okay). Here we are again, this time at The Palace instead of Billboard, with Baroness taking the place of Kvelertak. Anyway I missed Baroness tonight so who cares! #notmyfault #coolstorybro
French beasts Gojira have released a full-length since their last visit, the in-form L’Enfant Sauvage. They opened their set tonight in the same way as that album, with Explosia, double kick firing throughout the venue. We heard an anecdote about surfing an alligator from frontman Joe Duplantier, until the crowd coerced a correction to crocodile. The band stomped around stage like more agile iterations of their namesake during Flying Whales.
Mastodon haven’t released an album since their last visit (live albums don’t count, orright?). The set list was heavy on The Hunter, both good and bad. The thrashier moments were awe-inspiring, the folkier side a tad yawn-inspiring. “That dude’s head is going to fucking explode.” This is what I thought when guitarist Brent Hinds belted out the screams of Blasteroid. It was a meaty set list, with honed, faithful precision to the tracks. But something was missing, a certain strain of spectacle. Or maybe it was that pervading sense of diminishing return.
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
Photos by Kate Davis
Loved: I don’t think I saw a single smartphone in the air throughout? I’m not that sanctimonious about it, but still cool!
Hated: Missing Baroness, and consequentially, writing about missing Baroness.
Drank: Nope.
