Devin Townsend chose to play the O2 Academy in Bournemouth as a warm up before his sold out show at the Royal Albert Hall. I have seen hundreds of gigs over the past few years but let me tell you this was hands down the strangest one of the lot.

The night started with a half hour animation setting the scene for the rest of the night that was to be split into two parts. The first half of the show is a live recreation of the album Z2.

The Mighty Ziltoid is sent to earth to check out the atmosphere in advance of an invasion by his home planet. Unfortunately he stops off on the way and takes one of the War Princess subjects prisoner.

She sets off in pursuit sparking a three way battle on earth. The narration and backdrop shows the story as it progresses throughout the evening with Devin and the band supplying the driving beat and vocal accompaniment.

With the stage pretty dark throughout it was a bit like watching a film with the orchestra in the pit supplying the music. After a ten minute break Devin and the band were back to perform a more standard heavy metal set that saw the crowd much more animated.

Devin's vocals were much clearer and the songs flowed more smoothly than the first part of the night. I did enjoy the first half of the evening as it was so different from any other gig you will go to and you have got to give the guy credit for having the courage to try something so different. Having said that it was the second more fluid set that worked better for me and most of the crowd judging by the reaction.