Voivod’s latest EP Post Society was the band bringing back their technical and dissonant sound, and the fans deserved a tour celebrating the release of the EP. The ‘Post Society Tour’ started on May 19 from Dallas TX, and I was able to catch them at San Diego’s favourite metal venue, Brick by Brick. Voivod was joined for the tour by King Parrot and Child Bite, and by local thrashers Nukem.
Nukem opened the proceedings at around 8:30 pm with some standard thrash metal, nothing spectacular musically, but lively enough to warm up the crowd and get them moving. They had a good stage presence, and wrapped their set list in no time. Hardcore/Noise rock band Child Bite was next. The extremely energetic and hysterical vocalist Shawn Knight set the venue of metaphorical fire as he jumped on and off the stage and got into the audience’s face, and I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. The dissonance and distortion of their music came alive as the disturbing quality of the frantic vocals was brought forth. The uncontrolled display of emotion was somehow therapeutic to watch. I would have wanted to see more of this.
King Parrot came on soon enough, and while I’m not a fan of the band, I can see the appeal of their live performances. The grind/hardcore/sludge ensemble displayed with tireless fervor a pretty enthusiastic performance. They played a good mix of material from both of their full lengths. The band knows how to make the audience keep their eyes on them at all times. There was a lot of water pouring on the crowd, all in good fun. The vocalist jokingly disapproved of the headphones that I had on my neck, oh well.
As I waited for the stars of the night Voivod to come on stage, my brain was revising the riffs of Killing Technology and Post Society. It was a dream come true to see the legends do what they do best – play impeccable orgasmic riffs. This was treat for the fans of old Voivod, as they played at least one track from all of the first six albums, and a couple from Post Society and Target Earth as well. The performances were studio quality level perfection, and it looked like the band enjoyed playing for the crowd as much as the crowd enjoyed watching them.
Overall, it was an extremely satisfying night, with some expected contentment and some surprising elements too with the case of Child Bite, who I have to get to know more. Voivod’s performance was one of the best live performances I’ve been to. Don’t miss this one!