Live Review: Devin Townsend Project, sleepmakeswaves

Australia is indeed the lucky country, for myriad reasons. Musically, the sheer depth and breadth of talent that exists within our borders is astounding, and in heavy, alternative and progressive music we punch above our weight as if we were Manny Pacquiao kicking the shit out of Mike Tyson in his prime. And a major part of that is Sydney post/prog rock instrumentalists sleepmakeswaves.

Given such an incredible opportunity to support the great Canadian across the nation, the four-piece grasp it with eight hands. In a live setting, this band has transcended 'mere' post-rock and taken on a new life of their own. They create a classy wall of orchestral sound that is made by guitars, bass, drums and some very subtle electronic enhancement, and their live show is nothing short of a celebration. A celebration of music without vocals.

Their 40-minute set this night is almost overwhelming, in terms of the enormous swell of sound coming at you, and the sheer perpetual, unstoppable energy flowing off the stage from the four players, but in the most enjoyable way imaginable. A 40-minute set for this band is five songs, but they pack so much into those five songs, and they give tasty tidbits from all three of their records. 

It's difficult to conceive of a more appropriate, powerful or joyous way to warm up the heaving, sold out 170 Russell crowd for our illustrious headliner.

Another major reason we're so lucky is that Devin Townsend and his magnificent band are out here every 18 to 24 months, gracing us with their greatness and with their live show that implausibly seems to get better every time. The Dev loves us, and we love the Dev, to the extent that someone in the front row of this show actually presents him with a bunch of flowers!

With something in the region of 30 albums behind him, devising a Devin Townsend setlist must be a nightmare, and many favourite tracks have to be left out. There is no Earth Day, no Christeen, no Grace, no Addicted, but with an artist like Townsend, it doesn't matter one single iota, because we still have Supercrush!, Hyperdrive, monumental new tracks such as Higher and Stormbending, a fun acoustic version of Ih Ah! — which features some spontaneous vocal gymnastics from the great man — and the eerie, strange but utterly enthralling The Death Of Music. 

Something else that doesn't seem to matter is that Townsend's voice is ever so slightly scratchy this night. The man is simultaneously so humble, so grateful and so charismatic, and his band is just so powerful and on-point that this minor detail is by the by. 

After one hour and 40 minutes of DTP magic and majesty, the crowd leaves the venue with enormous smiles on their dials, elated by what they have just witnessed and with the fact that they are unlikely to have to wait long to bask in the genius of Townsend once again.