Yep, I called it in my coverage of the Katatonia show with The Ocean back in November… it took way too long for me to get to my first show in 2023. That’s part of the tradeoff that comes with moving to the mountains, I’m aware. But the good news is that The Mega-Monsters Tour stop in Portland, Maine was most definitely worth the wait. Gojira and Mastodon brought along Lorna Shore for this run, a lineup that I simply wasn’t going to miss. Mastodon and Lorna Shore only went ahead and released two of my favorite albums in recent years, while Gojira’s live show has been can’t-miss stuff for a ridiculously long time. So yeah, collectively this proved to be quite the three-headed monster of a show. Pun very much intended. Let’s dive into it.

Before getting into the show itself, let’s spend a few seconds talking about Portland. It had been way too long since I last visited the coastal Maine city, which is dumb. Actually, now that I think of it, the last trip was for The Metal Tour of the Year stop last year. More than a year ago. Like I said, dumb. Needless to say, this show required an early arrival, affording ourselves plenty of time to sample the ridiculous beer scene in the area. Novare Res Bier Cafe was a must, followed by a steady, yet very tame, crawl through some of my favorite Old Port spots — Mash TUN, The Thirsty Pig, so on and so forth. Sticking to pilsners, it was a well-execute pregame. I still had some pictures to take eventually. But my point is, if you’re familiar with Portland, you get it. And if you aren’t? Fix that.

On with the show. It should be known at this point that I think pretty highly of Pain Remains, Lorna Shore’s 2022 release. Still, given all the layers, symphonic components, and just straight-up ridiculous technicality in their sound, I was curious how it would all translate to a live setting. Not to leave out, of course, Will Ramos and all that absurd stuff he can do. Well, turns out it all translates pretty damn well. Opening with “Sun//Eater” was a brilliant way to roll into their set — a steady elevation with a catchy chorus got things moving effectively indeed. And despite having to keep things efficient as the opener, they still managed to work in the entire “Pain Remains” trilogy, closing out the set much like the album. For this, I will be forever grateful. There is just such impressive, dynamic, powerful work across those tracks. While some elements of their music didn’t resonate quite the way they did on record, depending on where you happened to be in the audience for sure, their sound still became ever more impressive witnessed in person. In all its forms, from Ramos’ mystifying vocal ability, to all the technical nuances of the leads, kicks, and everything in between… this set hit hard.

Time for Gojira, and I’ll be real be a second. Out of the three sets this evening, Gojira was the one I was the least excited about beforehand. Granted, it’s all relative, because on any kind scale these bands all landed pretty close to the top. Still, because of the most recent albums from both Lorna Shore and Mastodon, as previously mentioned, the anticipation for those two sets was just a notch higher. And wouldn’t ya know it? The Gojira performance took the crown. Silly me. I alluded to the impressiveness of their live show in the beginning, but this set surpassed any expectations I could have had. Awesome songs about whales? Check. Massive pyrotechnics? Check. Engaging crowd interactions? Check. A performance of “Another World” that included the music video playing behind the stage? Check. Mostly, however, I really wish I could describe just how god damn big they sound. But I can’t. Because… BIG. They sounded so clean, so tight, and the entire experience resonated across the senses. Considering this was a co-headlined tour, they were still able to compile and perform a full set, and since I’m old as shit now it all came while I was at my optimal energy level! Great success all the way around.

Last but not least, the mighty Mastodon. Alright, first things first. I’ve seen numerous Mastodon shows over the past decade-plus, and even as one who primarily gravitates to their earlier work (I know, I know, where have we heard shit like that before?), the setlist they constructed for this night has been my favorite so far. Naturally, they hit a couple of the notable tracks from Hushed and Grim, but more importantly this set covered some serious ground. Remission and Leviathan were heavily represented, including my personal favorite “March of the Fire Ants”, and “Blood and Thunder” as the closer. If I were to put together a playlist of my favorite Mastodon tracks, it would be pretty damn close to this. Now, to be fair, as the set reached it’s later stages, I definitely felt my energy and enthusiasm waning a bit. Like I said, I’m old now. Fortunately, using “Crusher Destroyer” as the penultimate track brought me (and everyone else) right back where they needed to be to wrap up the evening. Much like Gojira, not only did they sound great, but the usage of the video as a backdrop to the stage meant that this show was as captivating in sight as much as it was in sound. While Gojira may have offered my favorite performance of the night, Mastodon has been one of my favorite bands for a long, long time and this night only continued to validate that.

So with that, I’ll wrap things up. It was an awesome show, at the end of an awesome day in Portland. And as a quick nod to Cross Insurance Arena I’ll note that I usually tend to avoid larger stadium shows, but this venue has delivered for me numerous times now. The sound is always top notch, visibility is never an issue wherever you are, and the whole operation (even as a photographer) is always efficient… oh, and the beer selection is solid, too. Which we should expect. Because Maine. ANYWAY. If you get a chance to catch any of these dudes on the road, together or individually, be sure to make it happen. As for me, in the middle of a very hectic year, I’m just honored and thrilled this show and this weekend all came together. It’s one I’m going to remember for years.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb