Gig Review: Mastodon & Gojira @ Trusts Arena, Auckland 31/03/18

Storm the Gates has definitely been following the “Go Big or Go Home” philosophy and is yet to put on a show without issues, but as far as this Easter Show is concerned, at least they weren’t the reason for the problem and tried to keep the fans as updated as possible. The problem instead came down to an issue with the freighting of Gojira and Mastodon’s gear, which was looking like it would lead to the cancellation of the show. That isn’t the New Zealand way, however, and in true Kiwi fashion, local artists were making trips to drop off their own gear to loan to these international giants, so that the show could go on. The logistics of sorting this combination of different equipment clearly created delays, and as the day went on, fans were being inundated with changes to the set times, until half an hour after doors opened, when it was announced that unfortunately, both local opening acts would no longer be performing. A bummer for the bands, but understandable given the circumstances.

This led to a splitting of the crowd, most going into the arena, but many choosing to use the extra hour to head to the local bar down the road for refreshments. I mention this purely because, despite the long hair, tattoos, piercings, black shirts, or shaven heads, I witnessed one of the most courteous queues in my lifetime. No mobbing of the bar; everybody waited in a single line and chatted to each other about who they were most excited to see. That is the side of the rock and metal community that rarely gets shown to the outside world.

The final act for the night were headliners, Mastodon, and for their fourth time in New Zealand, they completed a marathon performance with minimal banter, completing 20 tracks in 90 minutes. Heading straight out as soon as the equipment was soundchecked, the crowd went wild to the sounds of Sultan’s Curse. One thing that can be said for Mastodon, is they are an exciting band to watch perform; no static performances here, guitars are in the air, drumsticks are frequently thrown into the crowd mid-song, and bassist Troy Sanders’ hair was all over the place as he went on a windmill headbanging rampage. It wasn’t until three tracks in, when Mastodon first acknowledged the crowd; a band of minimal banter. As the show was being included as part of their Emperor of Sands tour, it was expected that the album would be prevalent in the set list and over a third of the tracks for the night came from that very album. The remainder of the set list pulled a selection of tracks from nearly all of their other studio albums and EPs (2001’s Lifesblood being the only release excluded). 

Before the final block of tracks, they busted out track after track from Emperor of the Sun, winding up the crowd in the moshpit with a selection of their most recent treasures, in the form of Show Yourself, Precious Stones, and Roots Remain. Neither band felt the need to wander off and wait for the crowd to cheer them back. It wasn’t a night for time-wasting traditions, and “suspense” acts, they played through, ending their set with the hard-hitting rendition Blood & Thunder. After the set had ended and everyone had vacated the stage Dailor took up a post front and centre to remind the crowd how close the show was to not happening, and how thankful they were that everyone managed to come together to make sure they didn’t leave the next day without playing, even giving a shout-out to the would-be opening bands Mothra and Just One Fix, encouraging fans to get to their shows and support them.

They exhibited humility before the crowd and have converted many casual music fans into die hard Mastodon fans. A brilliant night that almost never was.