Arriving about five minutes after the show begins my heart sinks as not only is the support act Devin himself doing an acoustic set, but the place is absolutely packed out and it looks like I might actually have to watch from outside the door! Photos are going to be impossible…

Think, think… The venue is hotter than Satan’s armpit (insert far more unsavoury metaphor here) so if I’m going to push my way down to the front I had better quench my thirst and throw myself into the (hopefully Covid-free) fray. Quick run to the bar downstairs and then I go for it… skilfully following a lady with two pints headed to the front. About a third of the way from the stage I decide this is probably the best spot.

For my first gig since February 2020, first gig completely by myself and first chance to write a gig review, I could not think of a better artist to see. Even if I didn’t know the artist, any album called “Empath” would be immediately worthy of my attention. But as it turns out I have known Devin for a lot longer than I ever realised. It dawned on me last year that my first collision with Devin was watching Steve Vai’s videos for “Deep Down Into the Pain” and “In my Dreams with You” on the TV show Raw Power (do not google the date. Fuck!!! I’m old).

I’m pretty sure at some point I also had a copy of “Accelerated Evolution” and after listening to more solo stuff in recent years it was in Utopia Record in Sydney in January 2020 I bought “Empath”. Alas it is still in cellophane (along with Fear Inoculum and latest offering from Life of Agony) because until recently my hifi was in the loft. And I may be old school but I still prefer owning tangible music. Aside from that if it’s not live or radio I generally don’t bother.

So I’ve been looking forward to hear these tracks played live and I am not disappointed. But we don’t get to the Empath songs until the main set. During the acoustic set he plays a mixture of older stuff. At first I don’t know them but am already in awe and it all just feels a little surreal. The crowd seemingly feeling the same way. Then a song I know, “Hyperdrive” from the 2009 album “Addicted”. It feels so good to be back at a gig. I knew I had missed it but really didn’t realise how much. The nerves I felt about coming to a gig alone, the chaos of trying to get in has now ebbed away as the acoustic set reaches its climax and Devin breaks into a stunning rendition of “Bring Him Home” from Les Misérables. He stumbles over the words a few times and forgets some notes, but it is a powerful and heartfelt performance and that song in particular will linger with me for some time.

At this point Devin says he’s going to change into something more suitable. It’s only later on in the set I realise all the jokes about pyjamas are because he is indeed wearing pyjamas and it was at this interval he added the jacket!

The amount of effort Devin has made to make this gig (and the Bloodstock performance) happen is phenomenal. He’s spent ten days in quarantine, during which he had to get physio for his back and couldn’t even stand (and indeed he makes reference to his back brace during the show), and he’s also sourced a band of UK musicians, who he tells us he only met two days ago!

After a quick Ziltoid (extraterrestrial) intermission on the screen Devin is back with this band and straight into the first song. “Aftermath” one from the Strapping Young Lad era. After the operatics of the last song this is HeavyDevy at his best. Loud and in your face. Can you tell they only met two days ago? If I didn’t know I wouldn’t have been able to tell and maybe I’m not entirely qualified to answer that question but do they sound good? Abso-fucking-lutely and you can tell Devin himself is delighted at what they have managed to achieve in such a short time.

Next up on this fan picked playlist we get another song I know “Kingdom” from 2011’s “Retinal Circus” album. Simply wonderful. My words simply cannot do justice to the talents of this man! If you have never heard any Devin songs might I suggest this is a good place to start.

Soon things start to get weirder. Ziltoid is back and Devin explains the next song is the only song (maybe) about farting ballsacks! And so begins “March of the Poozers” and as if live music was not a good enough tonic for the events of the last two years, this track has people grinning from ear to ear (by the end of the gig my face really is aching).

The drummer is having a ball, the guitarist is in his element, the bassist seems a little subdued  (maybe he’s starstruck or just generally overwhelmed after the shitshow of the last two years). The crowd are loving it and Devin clearly is too. At one point he tells us “this song is hard to play so wish us luck” but then quips “it’s like shitting the bed, kicking it out and going back to sleep!”

Devin is so animated and you can tell how much he has missed being on stage. He is so engaging and engaged with the audience. There is definitely something other worldly about Devin’s music and it’s not just Ziltoid and the fact he is an artist that cannot be pigeon-holed. For someone who appears to never take himself too seriously on stage, there is something deeply moving about this whole experience. Not at all unexpected, but as they break into another song I adore “Stormbending”, this reinforces this ten-fold.

Yet Devin is actually as down to earth as you can get (alien company excepted) and despite admitting he doesn’t remember how to interact with an audience, it’s his humanity that endears him to us even more. He talks about eating, sleeping, shitting; saying that is all he really has done for the last 18 months. He tells us he took the biggest shit he has ever done in the last few days! And he tells of the fear and trepidation he has also experienced. He’s just naturally funny and the warmth from the crowd (not just the body heat) is palpable. Which is timely as the next song is Love? The guitarist starts windmilling and this heavy-as-fuck track is obviously one the majority of the crowd recognise.

The next few songs I know but then I become aware of the time. For my first solo outing I was worried the night was going drag and I would feel really self-conscious but now it’s nearly over and it’s too soon. I’m not ready! The highlight of the show for me has to be “Spirits Will Collide”. Devin invites the crowd to sing along, with the lyrics done karaoke style on the screen and we do. It’s such a soul-rousing song and to hear it live is a powerful experience. I hide behind my camera filming for the first few minutes overcome with emotion. The words hitting me right in the feels “We're strong enough... Wherever the flame in your heart burns strong… We may not be brave so let's start…”

Throughout the intermission between the final song and encore Devin just chats to the audience and admits they can’t be bothered to go off and return, but continues to narrate what they should be doing. They finish with “Vampira” from “Synchestra” and I can’t believe it’s over. I’m hoping for another song but the lights go up and Devin walks back and forth across the stage personally acknowledging as many people in the crowd as he can, saying thank you and waving goodbye. What a thoroughly lovely man he is!