Venue: Marathon Music Works, Nashville, TN
Tesseract, War of Being Tour, Part 2
Band: Daniel Tompkins (vocals), Acle Kahney (lead guitar), James Monteith (rhythm guitar), Amos Williams (bass), Jay Postones (drums)
Setlist (one hour): Natural Disaster, Of Mind – Nocturne, King, Sacrifice, Legion, War of Being, The Grey, Juno (with Concealing Fate Part 3: The Impossible outro)
Devin Townsend, Powernerd Tour
Band: Devin Townsend (vocals, lead guitar, theremin), Mike Keneally (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Darby Todd (drums), James Leach (bass)
Setlist (~one hour fifty minutes): Powernerd, Love?, The Fluke, Lightworker, Dimensions, Aftermath, Deep Peace, By Your Command, Bastard, Why?, Gratitude, Almost Again, Truth, Kingdom
Encore: Ih-Ah! (Devin solo acoustic), Deadhead, Bad Devil
Talk about a power lineup. For me, anyways. This show was only on my radar for the last couple weeks when I first saw it when stumbling across Devin’s Powernerd tour. When I saw TesseracT were opening for him on part 2 of their War of Being tour, I was intrigued. I saw them on the first part of this tour back in 2023 in St. Louis, and they were phenomenal. I had never seen Devin live before, but I’ve really fallen into his music since 2019’s Empath. I didn’t buy the tickets until a couple days before because work has been so busy and I’ve been so tired, but when Devin announced early last week that after this tour he would be stepping back from regular touring, I figured I needed to go. Nashville is a little over an hour from me, so it’s an easy trip and can be back in my own bed the same night. Or in my case falling asleep on the couch at 1am with the dog barking at me for leaving her at home.
I left work a little early to go home and feed the hound before heading south early for some BBQ near the venue and to get a free parking spot on the street near the venue, Marathon Music Works. Marathon Motor Works was a brass-era automotive manufacturer in Nashville, active from 1909-1914. The buildings still stand all these years later, and one of them is the home of this deceptively large venue. It looks like a small club from the outside, but inside has a standing capacity of 1800. For being in what is essentially a large open warehouse, the sound quality was quite good. More on that later. Multiple discretely located bars and a hot dog stand round things out inside. The weather was a bit crap, so the venue opened the doors long before the stated 6:00pm doors open time, allowing people to line up in the vestibule area. They also offered free water at the bars and security handed out free water bottles in the interim between bands. I’ve never seen a concert venue do that before, and considering the inexpensive cost of the show ($43 plus ~$13 fee), I was pleasantly surprised. This was a great venue. Parking is limited, but there are a few paid lots nearby and street parking in the area if you show up early.
Tesseract
Beginning right on time, TesseracT take the stage to a largely Devin-focused crowd. While it seems most people haven’t heard of TesseracT before (to their shame), the band seems to impress all-around. They thoroughly impressed me, playing a strong setlist of some of their best tracks. Unsurprisingly they pull from their heavier output, with crunching riffs and Tompkins distorted vocals. As the first show of the tour, Tompkins wisely paced himself. Their songs require a lot from him, so he has to pick and choose which high notes to reach for and which to knock down a notch. He knows which ones to shoot for to really make the songs. His distorted vocals were always stellar, and his high notes never disappointed.
I suppose you could say I was in the second row, standing right behind the folks leaning on the rail, off stage left (so, right side of the stage from the audience perspective). I had a great view of prog metal’s giant (literally – he looks like he’s 7 feet tall) James Monteith. When I saw them before, I was in the loft at that venue, which afforded a great overall view. This time it was nice to get a closer look at Monteith’s fingerwork. Their music is so complicated that often he was in the zone and focused on his fretwork. But he still took time to engage with the audience, even climbing on the little stool that Tompkins took more use of. Bassist Amos Williams also made several trips over from his side of the stage to engage a bit. Sadly Acle never wandered over to our side.
Watching the band up-close I was struck with how they really don’t get their power from a particular virtuosic player or excessively technical noodling, but rather from exquisitely tight riffs and technical polyrhythms. To stay in sync as well as they do is a remarkable accomplishment. While standing in line to get into the show, I saw a young dude with a t-shirt that asked, “Does it even djent?” TesseracT answered that question with a resounding YES. The heavy repetitive crunches, the stuttered drops, the thundering bass and drums – oh yes, it djents.
I brought earplugs as I usually do to shows like this. I found myself standing rather close to one of the stacks, although I was so close and it was hanging that I don’t think the full brunt of it was aimed at me. I could feel the bass though, but not in a makes you run to the bathroom way. I could actually feel my hair moving, and my pant legs had the signature quiver of a good subwoofer. With my earplugs in, I found it hard to hear some of the more dynamic elements, so I pulled them out for probably 60-70% of the entire show (both TesseracT and Devin). Taking them in and out may have been a bit awkward, but it worked out well and I left without the fuzzy head feeling. That’s a testament (ha!) to the sound engineer and whoever designed the sound system at the venue. There was no unpleasant distortion like I was expecting when I took the plugs out. The sound was clear and loud, but not overly loud. For it to sound so good when I was so close to the action was quite surprising.
TesseracT are a serious outfit and put on a serious show. Their stage is clean, and their lighting show it pristine, befitting the technical prowess present on stage. Tompkins had a serious demeanor, but he also clearly plays the role of the showman well, with precise movements on stage that mirror the riffs the band is playing. He had dark makeup on the upper part of his face (eyes up), fitting the aesthetic of War of Being. He talked to the crowd a little bit, at one point commenting that they opened for Devin fifteen years ago on his first solo headlining tour. That was probably one of their first tours as well, so it was cool to see them together again. Devin generously gave them an hour to play, which was a pleasant surprise. I figured they would have a 45 minute set, so when they played three songs more than I was expecting, I was thrilled. That was a switch from when I saw them headline in 2023, when they had two opening bands and only played an hour 15 minute headlining set. I enjoyed that show, but I was disappointed they didn’t play more. Here they played a little less than that but more than I expected, so I left very happy. All in perspective, I suppose. I look forward to seeing them live again someday.
I think they deserved more love than they got, although I saw a much longer line at their merch desk than there had been before the show started (Devin’s line was massive before the show), so hopefully they gained new fans. I, for one, bought my copy of the newly re-released CD of Concealing Fate before the show. It hasn’t been issued since it’s initial release, and it is darn near impossible to find, so it was great to pick up an overpriced copy at the merch desk.
Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend’s show is somewhat of a stark contrast to TesseracT’s, or to most other heavy metal or prog metal bands. Anyone who has seen Devin before or followed him at all could attest to that. I had never seen him live in-person before, and I was surprised at just how engaging he is with the crowd. And how much of a goof he is. He’s absolutely hilarious on top of being extremely talented. Right off the bat he came onstage without any kind of intro and started talking to the audience. He made it sound like there was some sort of issue with the intro music, but he may have been kidding. Whatever the issue was, he lightened the mood.
This was obviously Devin’s crowd. TesseracT put on a fantastic show, but most of the people were there to see Devin, and it showed with the energy level once he took the stage. That energy was infectious, but truth be told I couldn’t sustain the energy myself for very long. I used up a lot of my energy in TesseracT’s show, but it has also been a long few weeks. After a few hours of standing, I found myself wishing I had brought along my roll-on Icy-Hot for my lower back, and my feet were killing me. That put a damper on my enjoyment of Devin’s set, but it didn’t impact how good his set was and how much fun it was to see him live.
Since this was the first show of the tour and he didn’t play his Powernerd material on his more recent European shows, it was the live debut for the two songs he played off his new record (“Powernerd” and “Gratitude”). The title track was a great way to start the show, getting the audience revved up right away. I was thrilled he followed it with a Strapping Young Lad song (“Love?”), one of my favorite SYL songs. I overheard some people before the show commenting on how Devin doesn’t play the Strapping stuff anymore, but they clearly haven’t been paying attention the last several years because he re-introduced some of that material to his live shows, including three songs at this show (“Love?”, “Aftermath,” and “Almost Again”).
This was a very balanced set displaying the many sides of Devin. His heavy side dominated with tracks like “Powernerd,” “Love?”, and “Kingdom,” but his softer and sometimes spacier sides showed themselves in “Lightworker,” “Why?”, and the impromptu acoustic version of “Ih-Ah!”. He said that particular track wasn’t actually on the setlist, and I saw he didn’t play it at last night’s show in Georgia.
Devin’s humor was sprinkled throughout, whether it be through his belching, forgetting lyrics to the new songs, his balls jokes, inappropriate maneuvers with the theremin, air humping behind the security guy, briefly twerking, or the way he knelt down and wistfully looked at Keneally as that master played a keyboard solo with one hand and played some guitar notes with the other. In talking with the audience, Devin brought up the weird feeling of playing live after having been cooped up in the studio for so long. He lets his fans in on how he’s feeling, which helps create a connection between fan and artist.
I was over on the same side of the stage as Mike Keneally, and he was really fun to watch. He looks older than he is (he’s 63 but easily looks 70), which could be because of his borderline business-casual attire, in sharp contrast to both Devin’s hoody and the brutal riffs of much of the music. He was clearly having a blast, and watching him play those heavy Strapping riffs was hilarious. It is fitting that he’s playing with Devin now after playing a similar role for Frank Zappa many years ago; Devin reminds me a little of Zappa with his talent, quirkiness, and prodigious output.
The fun thing about this setlist is just how deep it is. Devin covered the length and breadth of his career. Despite the decades of music under his belt, his voice sounds as good as ever. From the operatic styling of “Why?” to the emotional distortion of “Deadhead,” Devin seemingly hasn’t aged a day. His voice really is a rare talent. Speaking of “Why?”, I’m so glad he played that. I love that song, and so did the crowd, judging by the unanimous sing-along that ensued. “Kingdom” is obviously always a hit, but I especially enjoyed hearing “Deadhead” live. It is probably my favorite Devin song, combining the best elements of his different styles. A perfect choice for an encore.
Encore
The show ended close to 11pm, with Devin giving us close to 2 hours of music – a surprise considering TesseracT played an hour. With Devin’s goofiness and chill personality the perfect balance to TesseracT’s seriousness and technical prowess, it was a stellar pairing, one I am glad I decided to go and see. They are only touring together for a couple weeks, so catch them if you can before they part ways on their respective tours.
Soen – Memorial
Transatlantic – The Final Flight, Live at L’Olympia
Dream the Electric Sleep – American Mystic
Big Big Train — Ingenious Devices
Haken – Fauna
Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex
Southern Empire – Another World
Moon Safari – Himlabacken Vol. 2
3. Riverside – ID.Entity
2. Molybaron – Something Ominous
1. TesseracT – War Of Being
I missed this album when it came out, although I remember reading about it in Prog magazine. I came to appreciate Pain of Salvation with their 2020 album, Panther, which was my top album of the year. I finally started to dig into their back catalog this summer, and I’ve been blown away. In The Passing Light Of Day is a brilliant tour-de-force of emotions. Some of the lyrics I think are too sexually explicit, which is primarily why I rank it at number 10 and why I almost kicked it off my top ten. But the music and melodies are so good, and most of the lyrics are incredibly profound. I also think Ragnar Zolberg brought a lot to the table and was a great balance to Daniel Gildenlöw.
It was hard to pick one of the 
Portals is a brilliant album. It is unique on this list for being a live release, but it is also unique for being a live-in-studio release – a product of the pandemic. I suppose that’s why I don’t rank it higher on this list, but I’ve been listening to it a ton since it came out. I even broke down recently and bought the fancy deluxe CD/DVD/Blu-ray edition. I think most of the tracks on here sound better than they do on the original albums. The album also introduced me to the band, as well as to the world of djent. The way the band blends djent riffs with Floydian spacey motifs is just perfect. One of the finest bands in the world right now.
I go in spurts when listening to Haken (like I do with many bands). The Mountain has a magnificent blend of metal with splashes of 70s golden age prog. Songs like “Atlas Stone,” “The Cockroach King,” “Falling Back to Earth,” and “Pareidolia” have become prog metal classics, in my book. I’ve come to think Haken isn’t as compelling in their quiet tracks as bands like Riverside of TesseracT, but this entire album is still very listenable nine years later.
Marillion’s F.E.A.R. was my introduction to the band, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed diving back into their catalog. I’d have to say I think this is one of their best with Hogarth. Their latest album, “An Hour Before It’s Dark,” comes very close to it, but “Reprogram the Gene” knocks it down a peg for me. F.E.A.R. combines musical prowess with cultural critique to wonderful effect, even if I may disagree with Hogarth at points.
I had a hard time deciding which of Riverside’s three studio albums from the past decade to choose. Love, Fear and the Time Machine and Wasteland are both brilliant, and if I had allowed myself to choose multiple albums from the same artist in a top ten, Wasteland would probably be here too, but I think Shrine edges both of them out. It’s heavy, both musically and lyrically. Several of the songs turn into real earworms for me, and I’m never disappointed when I return to this record. And it’s another one on this list that I discovered several years after its release.
Oak is my favorite new band of the last decade. Both their 2013 (2016 release on CD) album Lighthouse and 2018’s False Memory Archive are brilliant albums, if not perfect. This record was my top album of 2018, and Lighthouse was my top album of 2016 (I didn’t realize at the time it had been released digitally earlier). The Norwegian melancholic aesthetic is dripping from both albums. It was hard to pick one of the two, but the closing track on False Memory Archive, “Psalm 51,” is one of the finest album closers I’ve ever heard. I think that gives this record the edge.
I was blown away by Devin Townsend’s Empath when it came out – so much so that I bought the 2CD deluxe version that year and the super deluxe version when Inside Out funded that project the next year. The record masterfully blends all the aspects of Devin’s career into a truly unique and truly Devin experience. It has the heavy bombast of Strapping Young Lad at points, yet it’ll soar into orchestral and even operatic highs elsewhere – or even at the same time. Pure musical theater in the best way. Devin’s vocal performance on “Why?” is stunning, and the message of hope on “Spirits Will Collide” is always a pleasant reminder that life is worth living. The production side of things, with Devin’s famed “wall of sound,” is unmatched in his career, or anyone else’s for that matter.
Here we come to one of the truly great albums of our time. I would certainly rank this in a top 10 best albums of all time. Back in 2015, this album was my number 3 pick, with The Tangent’s “A Spark in the Aether” coming in at number 1. Now I still think that’s a great record, and I wrestled with whether or not to include it in my top 10, but I think over time Wilson’s masterpiece has proven to be a generational album. Both the music and the story sound fresh, even seven years and many listens later. The themes of isolation and loneliness in city life (or life in general) will always be relatable. Someone 100 years from now could listen to this record, and while they may miss some of the references (even I still miss some of them), the underlying theme will still connect. That’s what places this record up there with the likes of Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
The defining band and defining album for the last decade of prog. Looking back, this record was the one that got me into the contemporary progressive rock scene. Returning to it today is a special treat, as I hope it always will be. It contains everything you might want out of a quintessentially “English” progressive rock band. It has the rock, the folk elements, the complex musicality, the well-told stories. And then there’s David Longdon’s voice, showing us his command of the material and his command of the upcoming several years in the prog scene. When I traveled to England in 2015 (which to me felt like a longer distance between its release than it feels between now and that visit – it’s weird how your perception of time changes as you grow older) I really wanted to listen to this album while being out in the hedgerows and fields. I can still remember sitting on a bus traveling between towns listening to English Electric (I wrote more about this in a 
Robby Steinhardt – Not In Kansas Anymore
Devin Townsend – Devolution Series #2 – Galactic Quarantine
Soen – Imperial
Atravan – The Grey Line
Progarchy 