I recently had the opportunity to catch the second leg of the Mastodon/Gojira/Kveletak tour at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI. I had seen the tour in the spring when they stopped by Worcester, MA and was just as excited to see this line up again as I was the first time that they came to town.
First up were Norway’s own, Kvelertak, who played a crushing and energetic set. After having seen them about a half dozen times before this show, I was surprised that they only played for half an hour, but, I’ll be damned if they didn’t make the most of it with songs such as ‘Blodtørst’ and ‘Ulvetid’ off of their self titled Kvelertak (Indie Recordings), ‘Åpenbaring’ and the ever popular ‘Bruane Brenn’ from 2013’s Meir (Roadrunner Records). I’ll be waiting on ‘Nekrokosmos’ and ‘Sultans of Satan’ for next time. If you haven’t seen Kvelertak live yet, you really need to get on that. These are some really talented guys and they’re only going to continue getting better and better just like Bjarte Lund Rolland’s shirts; he was sporting High on Fire this time around and everyone knows how I feel about them.
Hailing from France, Gojira took the stage next and opened their set with ‘Ocean Planet’ to the deafening roar of an excited crowd. A Gojira show is always an experience in the art being as heavy as possible. I was a giddy little girl thanks to being treated to two more tracks off of From Mars to Sirius (Prosthetic Records); ‘Backbone’ and “The Heaviest Matter in the Universe’. ‘Vacuity’ provided the finishing touch to an already flawless set. I would really like to see Gojira headline another tour. While they never disappoint live and tour with other incredible acts, eight songs just aren’t enough and I’m always left wanting more. Maybe we can add ‘World to Come’ next time?
Headliners Mastodon took the stage last and treated us to an eighteen song set. Once More Round the Sun (Reprise Records) had not been released when I saw them last and about half of the set list for this evening consisted of songs off of the new album. This was really the Mastodon Sing-A-Long Tour as there wasn’t a time when the crowd wasn’t belting out every single song. The crowd was the loudest for ‘The Motherload’ and screamed their lungs out although there was no twerking. ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Divinations’ garnered a similar response and the chant at the end of ‘Aunt Lisa’ will quickly become a crowd favorite. ‘Halloween’ was also appropriately included in the mix for a show the day before the holiday of the same name. Everyone’s favorite new break up song, ‘Ember City’, made its live debut as well and was met with applause. It was phenomenal. These southern sweethearts brought the evening to a close with the powerful ‘Blood and Thunder’ and the venue went insane. I may or may not have grabbed my friend to shake him violently in my excitement. He seemed fine. Even if a good chunk of the set was dedicated to material off of OMRS, it’s a solid album and Mastodon are always excellent live.
I try not gush, but, sometimes it just can’t be helped. It really doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen any of these bands, I’ll continue to seek them out and you should too. They’re fantastic performers and
I look forward to seeing them for many years to come. I’d also like to thank Erika Kristen for being a friend and a wonderful human being in general.
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WORDS: ALEIDA LA LLAVE
PHOTOS: HILLARIE JASON PHOTOGRAPHY