There are few things in this life as rewarding and cathartic as a live performance from the gargantuan musical entity known as Gojira. At least for me and without a doubt the hordes of enthusiastic fans waiting outside the venue. I hadn’t seen them now since the summer of 2019 which, when you sit and try and think on it I can’t quite figure out… has this much time passed already? So much has happened yet it feels like nothing has and I saw them yesterday. Certainly something to think on.. or not to be honest because from the second Born For One Thing kicked off we are there, in the moment. I won’t detail the setlist because anyone can search it out if they feel compelled.. but what I will say is there were two songs played from my personal favourite album “The Way Of All Flesh” on this night and boy, did they raise the roof (more so) with these two surprises.. These two being “The Art Of Dying” and “The Way Of All Flesh”. The trance like state I end up in during the outro of the latter is something only Gojira can achieve. It is as close as one can get to achieving true oneness with the very air around you. 

The energy in the room… can we talk about that? It’s another thing I’ve only ever experienced at Gojira shows. There is this almost a symbiotic nature between band and audience. It transcends what a gig is, really.. weaving and waving before morphing into an auditory and visual beating. In the best possible way. Jean-Michel always says thanks to me for my energy but in truth, I had none arriving.. or at least felt none there. I was barely standing (maybe a slight exaggeration) initially but once the first notes kicked in something welled up deep inside stirs and I allow it out. I have no real control over whatever it is but I’ve noticed you just have to let it flow through you and give over to it for the rewards are more than one can put into mere words. I go through all emotions, I head bang, I dance, I work, I smile, I grimace, I jump up and down, flail about and in truth it’s some of my freest moments, pure abandon enveloped by these sonic explosions going off all around me bring into my existence. God, it feels GOOD! The show flew by in what felt like a matter of minutes … I find myself leaning against the wall post show covered in sweat, panting, ears ringing knowing everything will hurt tomorrow but at the same time, overcome with gratitude. It’s not something I can express.. it’s not just about the music.. 

It’s the culmination of so much work, so much personal sacrifice, so many obstacles, so much joy, so much sadness, anger, you name it - that brings ME in this body to this point, this moment in time. From Bulawayo, Zimbabwe playing in the mud watching ants do their thing to this. What a trip. Money could never buy this. The purity of it and the connection I share with this band, the humans they are, the people they have around them and the music they create. It truly is “A Sight To Behold”. 

Taylor, Gojira’s tour manager, a stand up human being, a friend and a relentless force of focus and organisation, thank you as always for always being so hospitable and for the conversations brother. Good to know you. 

To Joe, Mario, Jean-Michel and Christian, I wish you godspeed always. You guys deserve everything that comes your way in this business and life for what you give is also worth so much more than money. Thank you for all the times now and in the future. I, Fiaz Farrelly have enjoyed every second and (I really should mention my work haha) I’m beyond ecstatic that not only my work and yours have crossed paths but also resonated with each other. This too, is worth more than any money in this world to me. I can’t wait for one more show… this time, in London at the Alexandra Palace. I would love to come to more but life is telling me I can’t right now so I accept as it’s more than I can ask for and will soak up every goddamn second. 

If you read this far, thank you too. I am adding a small gallery of my favourite photographs I was able to capture on this special night in our country’s capital, Dublin here in Ireland. I hope you like them as much as I do! 

Until next time, and as Jerry Springer always put it; “Take care of yourself, and each other”.

Much love and respect,

Fiaz, February 2023

Good evening… 

I’ve sent my finished edit to Robb, I’m sitting here sipping tea with my little dog friend Buddy chilling with Of Kingdom And Crown playing yet again… this record is nothing short of fantastic. Talk about solid. Impenetrable and sounds like the entire Machine Head discography has been thrown into a blender with a few extra new elements and come out fresh as all hell, immediate, relevant, powerful, emotionally affecting, heavy as hell, crushing and above all, rewarding in it’s listen. 

Seeing the band in Dublin this past Tuesday was like receiving a jolt of adrenaline mixed with a zest for life I haven’t had in well over two years. Not that I can’t find it elsewhere, I’m just trying to illustrate what it is I get from this band’s musical output as well as them as human beings and friends in my life on this planet. I’ve been a die hard fan of their music now since the latter part of my 16th year in this life growing up in Southern Africa FAR away from anything like a live heavy metal show and still am now in my 42nd year. Growing up in Africa like that with so little access to the music I adored so made what I did have all the more important and created a hunger in me that hasn’t ever really dissipated. 

The show itself was yet another life affirming experience for me. A cacophony of Machine Head hits, so to speak with one new song thrown in. That fuckin’ brutal rager “Become The Firestorm”. I cannot wait to hear the other new material live.

I will never be able to explain the feeling I get when I hear an electric guitar blasting out of a PA at full volume or the thunderous drums, rumble of the bass guitar. It’s a majestic sound to me..  combine all the elements together and the all enveloping nature of the sound coupled with the feeling of the music THROUGH your body… it is one of those things in this life that’s unmatched. I’m still in bits today nearly 5 days later from head banging, jumping, stomping, running, photographing and filming. I won’t talk anymore, I’ll let my work do the talking… I hope you like the photographs, I really dig them. I found myself a little off my game after 2.5 years away from this but I am very happy. I’ll hopefully follow up with a nice, kick ass video in the next wee while… Thank you to Robb, Jared, Vogg, Matt, Jon, Larry and Rodrigo for your hospitality and such a great day.

Vogg, Matt and Larry, good to meet you guys. 

Robb, Jared, Jon and Rodrigo, great to see you guys again.. safe travels and see you again soon without a doubt. 

Love and respect,

Fiaz, September 2022

MEMENTO MORI 

(A piece inspired by the passing of my friend Riley Gale - rest in peace my friend)

A little time has passed since hearing of the passing of a friend of mine, Riley Gale. Most know him as the singer and frontman for Power Trip. I’ve written a short tribute to him about we met (and how it had nothing to do with what either of us did to earn a living despite what we did for a living being the reason our encounter happened in the first place). For me personally, (one of those encounters in life that happen through some form of what I can only call serendipity) it was one that has stuck in my mind in vivid form since. All this thought that has swirled around my head these past 7 days have brought about a specific train of thought and one concerning our mortality and the fragility of this existence.

Please note this is outside of the world events we’re all aware of. This is purely focused on individual mortality. At least, that’s my intention.

Do you ever think about your own mortality? How do you perceive it? Is it negative for you to think about or the opposite? Do you ever think of it and find that the very thought of it is a form of motivation in your own life? I do.. I have for a long time though I must admit it’s something I’ve somewhat forgotten during this lockdown. I’m not sure why and can only arrive at the reasoning that it is our routines were thrown out of whack, for me, my transient lifestyle put on hold and forced to stay in place. I’ve had to correct myself on many an occasion for wishing my life away or fighting against the flow of the stream of acceptance of things being out of our control sometimes. That said, the untimely passing of my friend has stirred these thoughts in me once again. 

None of us want a short life, I’m assuming. I want all the time in the world I can muster to find ways of living, creating, traveling, eating, seeing, hearing, feeling, learning, imbibing and experiencing the things in this life I hold dear. I wish you all a long life but at the end of the day we don’t know do how much we have left do we? We don’t know if tomorrow is the day we get hit by a bus for example (or any unimaginable fate that can happen by accident anywhere at anytime). ANYTHING that could snatch this away from us be it an accident, fate (if you believe in that) or through natural causes is a terrifying thought. I perish it. 

I realise how privileged I am to be able to sit and ponder this when so many in this world are at this very moment experiencing abject poverty, war, famine, sleeping homeless or gravely ill to name a few of the issues some of our earthly citizens suffer daily. I’m also well aware that this is all relative and we all have our own issues and problems to deal with. None of that is lost on me nor is it something I discount. That said, I’m trying to illustrate that I am grateful for all I have and have had. I may not be rich in monetary terms but in LIFE terms, I’m absolutely loaded. This gratitude extends back to my initial point… being able to ponder my own mortality in this manner is definitely a good thing. Something that I’m afforded through circumstance and having been born into the right passport and always having a choice about specific things in my life. 

I know this is all very contemplative and wordy… and I apologise if needs be but I’m also kind of pouring my brain out onto the page right now because I need to. Riley’s passing has stirred the need to not waste time more so than I ever have. There is so much out there, still. Here at home. Look around you. KNOW what I’m talking about. And if you are one of those people who sits and complains about being bored or that you don’t want this or that for dinner tonight take a second too and ponder your mortality and the possibility this could all be snatched away tomorrow and DO SOMETHING that constitutes being ALIVE and utilise it in your existence. Breathe and move forward putting one foot in front of the other. I mean, you can waste it, but why would you? You don’t get time back. It’s gone forever. It’s a waste of time focusing on the past when you should’ve already learned from it and discarded it in the nearest bin. It’s also a waste of time worrying about the “future” which, let’s be honest is nothing more than an idea, a construct. The only way we have a future is by dealing with the present and affecting the present. The future is tomorrow but you will be there soon enough… or will you? 

If you’ve gotten this far, I appreciate you taking the time to read it. If I know you, I’ll hopefully see you sometime soon. Until then, look after yourselves and your loved ones.

Respect,

Fiaz

____________

PS. I wanted to add in one of my favourite “speeches” from Alan Watts (If you don’t know who he I recommend looking him up) that kicked this thought process into gear many years ago… 

“So don’t resist change. We are liberated by the very fact of not being able to stop changing. You can’t hang on to yourself. You don’t have to try not to hang on to yourself. It can’t be done, and that is salvation. ‘Memento Mori,’ ‘be mindful of death.’ The most important thing for anyone to realise is that you and every person you see will soon be dead. It sounds so gloomy to us because we have devised a culture fundamentally resisting death. From the first standpoint, the worst is going to happen: you’re all going to die. And don’t just put it off in the back of your mind and say ‘I’ll consider that later.’ It’s the most important thing to consider NOW, because it is the mercy of nature, because it’s going to enable you to let go and not defend yourself all the time, waste all energies in self-defence. There is a wonderful quote that says: ‘I pray that death will not come and find me still unannihilated.’ In other words, man dies happy if there is no one to die which means the ego has disappeared before death caught up to him. But you see, the knowledge of death helps the ego to disappear because it tells you that you can’t hang on. So what we need is to go out with a bang instead of a whimper.” ~Alan Watts