Mastodon & Gojira – Trusts Arena March 31, 2018

This was a show that almost wasn’t. When both bands’ gear failed to arrive in Auckland, it looked like the concert would be cancelled, but local bands saved the day by providing instruments and other equipment to both Mastodon and Gojira in order to make the show happen.

The 13th Floor’s Shelley Ta Haara and Reuben Raj were there…

Trust Stadium was a sea of black last night as metal heavyweights Mastodon and Gojira gave Auckland a show.

The night started off rather messy as it was announced the 2 opening acts, JUST ONE FIX and MOTHRA, would not take the stage due to freight issue with bands gear. MASTODON and GOJIRA’ S gear was sent to LA rather than Auckland. But rather than cancel the show they borrowed local bands gear and gave the crowd what they wanted. It wasn’t a packed out stadium but it was definitely a decent sized one, that was ready to mosh.

GOJIRA took the stage in New Zealand for the first time ever! Their set instantly caught your attention as smoke cannons fired off and lights went crazy. Though the lights remained like that most of the show and it got to the point where my eyes couldn’t really take it anymore. When the strobes stopped the stage would usually be draped in 1 solid colour, primarily red.

GOJIRA played a heavy set and it was definitely incredible, however the sound levels seemed rather off and each song seemed to flow together which made it rather difficult to dissect which ones were played.

The crowd was moshing hard and seemed to go a bit harder as the set went on. The centre of the crowd looked like a big hot box and they were completely unphased, it was quite amazing to see. The set only stopped a couple of times for vocalist/guitarist Joe Duplantier to address the crowd. The main lengthy talk was to explain the gear issue with the crowd. Both the band and the crowd though it was incredible that local bands came through to make it all happen. Joe enjoyed his guitar but explained that it also goes out of tune.

Gojira had a lot of energy and though they didn’t run around the stage like most young bands you see these days, they knew how to show it. It was a great heavy set and they clearly enjoyed it, thanking Mastodon for bringing them along.

When the audience expressed their dismay that the set was over, Joe advised, “Life is too short. Get used to it”.

MASTODON had quite the similar set as far as lighting and sound. The band themselves seemed rather motionless at first but that changed as guitarist Brent Hinds got a bit more intimate with the crowd, getting closer as his guitar parts shone through.

Vocalist/bassist Troy Sanders also ran around the stage, even taking to his bass with his teeth at one point. His high screams cut through the crowd. I don’t know how he does that without severe damage to his vocal chords.

The crowd seemed to just stand there at first but as we got further in the set, they began to move. I noticed more of the crowd got involved with more popular tracks they played. There were a steady stream of crowd surfers and one girl I particularly noticed on a guy’s shoulders who was screaming the words and interacting with the crowd around her.

Troy spoke about their previous visit with SLAYER at The Powerstation. They acknowledged that the crowd was clearly bigger and welcomed their new friends. One particular thing that caught my attention was drummer Brann Dailor. He played so hard, but his vocals were also incredible. I thought it was backing track at first as I couldn’t see him from where I was standing. After the band departed the stage Brann took the stage to talk to the crowd and thank them for their support before chucking out “some pieces of wood”. And just like that it was over.

The sweaty crowd made their way out of the building and into the car park. They seemed to get food, have a smoke, buy merch and just recapped on the night. Regardless of the issues throughout the night, both bands played a great set. The crowd seemed to be very satisfied with what they had witnessed, a great heavy metal show in West Auckland.

Shelley Ta Haara

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Reuben Raj: