Voivod Concert Review, Austin, TX, May 21, 2016

The first time I ever saw Voivod live was during SxSW 2010, and there was blood. I was a latecomer to them and really prefer their middle-era of Nothingface, Angel Rat and Outer Limits, Negatron and Phobos over all of their other material. I love seeing them live and last caught them in Denver last year when I was up there for work.

I picked up my ticket yesterday afternoon and they were playing at the newly renovated Barracuda (f. Red 7). What a great job they did inside and out. The place is way more comfortable to see a show.

I missed opening act, Child Bite. King Parrot (King Boring) was up next and while I’m 0.0% a fan of them, their drummer is damned good.

Voivod was on next to a crowd of 100 or so, which was a bit disappointing. Apparently Dying Fetus was packed around the corner. Gross. Voivod was just hanging out with fans prior to their set. No rock stars here, folks. They’re really just laid back dudes and at least every time I have seen them, they’ve made themselves very accessible to their fans.

They opened with Ripping Headaches, Tribal Convictions and Order of the Blackguards. The set included 3 of the 5 songs from their latest EP, Post Society. The songs sounded great, especially We Are Connected. My favorites of the night would have to be The Prow and The Unknown Knows. This tour features new bassist, Dominique LaRoche, who did a great job. The whole band was tight as always and it’s really a pleasure to watch Away’s drumming. He’s a very unconventional.

The only played 13 songs ending the night with Voivod and Pink Floyd’s Astronomy Domine.

Upon exiting the stage, Dan Mongrain came up to me, put his hands on my shoulders and said with a smile, “How’s the head doing?” I said, “Other than a weird occasional twitch, no problems.” We both laughed, I told him it was a great show, he gave me a pick and we moved on. I’m surprised he even remembers that at all.

Can’t wait to see them again!