A Nerd’s Farewell: Devin Townsend’s Powerfully Absurd Final Bow in Toronto

Some shows whisper their way into memory. Devin Townsend’s PowerNerd stop in Toronto? It kicked down the venue doors, flung an octopus plushie at your face, and politely asked if you’d like a deeply existential hug… then screamed in harmony.

On May 14, Queen Elizabeth Theatre—stripped of seats and packed with 1,700 fans—became ground zero for a send-off few artists could ever hope to achieve. After nearly 35 years on the road, Townsend’s decision to step away from touring lent the night the weight of a Viking funeral… if Vikings wore LED glasses and crowd-surfed stuffed animals.

Supporting Townsend were the ever-elegant Brits of TesseracT, who opened with a set that felt like descending into a lucid dream—if your dreams are soundtracked by cosmic waves of progressive precision. Their blood-red and electric-blue light show wrapped each track in visual poetry, with songs like Natural Disaster and War of Being sounding as massive live as they do in studio. It was controlled chaos; a band so surgically tight, you half expect their amps to be tuned by NASA.

Then came Dev.

Or rather, The PowerNerd himself, escorted by a rain of cheers and a parade of plush companions tossed lovingly from fans at the rail—some from as far as Australia and the UK. One octopus plushie, lovingly dubbed Jeff, even made it to center stage wearing glasses. Naturally. Devin scooped them up like a benevolent cosmic janitor of whimsy and lined them up in front of him like an altar to absurdity.

Lightworker brought crowd-sung choruses and a now-iconic self-burn from the frontman, who joked, “I look like a condom full of lard!” before urging everyone to sing along with him.
Deep Peace turned the room into a sea of cell phone lights while Dev waxed on mid-life libido.
Why? was introduced as “brutal death metal song from a bald guy who wants your balls.”

Bad Devil, the set closer—and possibly Devin Townsend’s final live song for years—was introduced with a perfectly unhinged farewell. Facing the crowd with a grin, he shouted, “Dance to my soul… suck it, baby!” before launching into the chaotic finale, sending fans off with one last dose of his trademark weirdness.

The sound? Immaculate.
The setlist? A career-spanning odyssey.
The visuals? Horns were literally raised to the sky during “Truth.” A theremin danced eerily through “Dimensions.”
The energy? A mix of birthday party, therapy session, and apocalypse rave.

It’s worth noting that Dev’s popularity seems strangely understated in his homeland—he’s often more revered in Europe—but in this packed Toronto venue, he was greeted like a homecoming king crowned in riffs.

Devin Townsend’s Toronto show wasn’t perfect. It was something better.

It was real.

And gloriously weird.

A huge thanks to Sarah and Bernice from Looters for the accreditation — their support made this review possible.

Devin Townsend

Tesseract

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Drew Osborne

I’m Drew, the founder and editor of Front of the Stage. I have a strong love for music and photography, which started at a very young age. There’s just something I love about experiencing live music and capturing memories that will last a lifetime, and that’s how Front of the Stage came to be.