*Photography: Sharon ShapiraSince 2013, everyone in Israel has been waiting for the legendary GOJIRA to step on the stage for the second time; finally it has been fulfilled. On the 13th of October, Israel had its honor to welcome GOJIRA once again.
In this year, it all happened thanks to ProgStage Productions, originally set up in the Reading Hall in Tel Aviv, and had to move the show to the Theater Club, Jaffa. It did cause some major problems due to unstable situation in these days, a lot of people fuss about the new location, since it was placed in a pretty delicate location, but it didn't stop from people to come and fill the place to its top!
About the location: there were some early complains about the place, since it isn't built for heavy music as such, some thought that they will experience poor sound. I have to say that I was concerned as well, but I had to keep trust in ProgStage production, those guys know what they're doing after all. At the final sound check, when some of the instruments were put to test, I could feel the vibration all over my body. At this point, I knew that the sound is going to be phenomenal! I wasn't mistaken!
I remember the first time I heard GOJIRA, I just had to check out what they are all about; everyone was hooked up on it, like it's the only band you should listen to. I thought I should give it a try. In my conclusions, I can't say anything bad about the band, except that I didn't like their music at all. Now before you execute me! Couple of honorable elements in GOJIRA that I have to mention , at the recorded level. It is a unique band, although we have some bands that might sound like them but still, they have their own stamp mark. Groovy, technical, progressive, creative and original, but still, just not heavy enough in my opinion, something is missing for the whole picture so that I could identify it as Metal at all. Therefore, I just couldn't understand why and what is it all about, up until I saw GOJIRA live.
Everything was, as kitschy as it may sound, magical. Every thing was so thought out, every single thing that happened that night was planned and professional. It starts with the sound quality, which I had pointed out before, was amazing, it had turned the music to a whole different experience, you can't be indifferent with your head up, and you just have to headbang.
The two big monitor speakers placed from both sides of the stage, toward the crowd gave a huge wave like feeling to the audience, you can feel those base speakers as if you hear your own heartbeat.
The lights was timed and planned for every song, to maximize the mysterious atmosphere, and so was the smokescreen to emphasize the cold and blurry darkness.
For one of the last songs, the amazing vocalist and from guitar Joe Duplantier decided to invite a "guest", to confuse us more, Mario Duplantier stepped out his drums, came to the front and took Joe's guitar and started to play. Joe went to the drums and start to kick with impressive moves, everyone had their jaws dropped as they performed a small part, they just had switched parts and played perfectly as if it should be, a true team work of two brothers.
This is, ladies and gentlemen, real musicians, and this was my final answer to my own riddle. So why does everyone love GOJIRA? It's not just a trend; it's all about real, live music. And if you are skeptical like I was, I recommend that you go to their show, and you will not just hear or listen to it; you will feel it with all of your senses, and you will love it!
