Gojira began their headlining run of their native France last night, November 27th, hitting the stage at the Reims Arena in Reims. While that performance saw the band a bit shorthanded thanks to vocalist/guitarist Joe Duplantier injuring his hand, the band were able to lock in a suitable fill-in, with Car Bomb‘s Greg Kubacki guesting on guitar.
You’d think with the lineup changes, the group would just stick to a standard setlist to make it easy on Kubacki and themselves. Not so it would seem, as outside of that unconventional lineup configuration, last night’s set also found the GRAMMY Award-winning progressive metal band delivering some setlist surprises.
Their 2012 track “Born In Winter” from their 2012 album “L’Enfant Sauvage” received its first live airing at the show. Also being played for the first time was a set-closing rendition of their “From Mars To Sirius “track “Global Warming“.
“Wisdom Comes” from the band’s 2003 sophomore album “The Link” was played for the first time since 2017, while a medley of tracks taken from “From Mars To Sirius“, including “Where Dragons Dwell“, “To Sirius“, “Ocean Planet” and “In The Wilderness“, was also insert into the set. “From Mars To Sirius” officially turned 20 on September 27th of this year.
Last night’s setlist ran as follows:
“Only Pain“
“The Axe“
“Backbone“
“Stranded“
“The Cell“
“Wisdom Comes“
“Flying Whales“
“From The Sky“
“Another World“
“Silvera“
“Mea Culpa (Ah! Ga ira!)” (cover)
“Born In Winter” (live debut)
“Born For One Thing“
“The Chant“
“Amazonia“
Encore:
“L’Enfant Sauvage“
“Where Dragons Dwell” / “To Sirius” / “Ocean Planet” / “In The Wilderness“
“Global Warming” (live debut)
The remaining dates for their French tour include:
11/28 Lille, FRA – Zenith de Lille
11/30 Paris, FRA – Bercy Accor Arena
12/01 Rouen, FRA – Zenith de Rouen
12/02 Saint-Herblain, FRA – Zenith Nantes Metropole
12/04 Toulouse, FRA – Zenith de Toulouse
12/05 Clermont-Ferrand, FRA – Zenith de Clermont-Ferrand
12/06 Marseille, FRA – Dome Marseille
12/08 Nice, FRA – Palais Nikaia
12/09 Bordeaux, FRA – Areka Arena
12/10 Lyon, FRA – LDLC Arena
12/12 Strasbourg, FRA – Zenith Of Strasbourg
