Godspeed You! Black Emperor Show Review
words and photos by Logan Martin
On the evening of Saturday, May 3rd, I had the privilege of seeing Godspeed You! Black Emperor
perform live at Ventura Music Hall, as part of the US leg of their Spring 2025 tour, in tandem with the
release of their ninth album, “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD”, which was released in October of 2024. They began touring throughout the North American continent in April, following a month of shows throughout Europe, and have been performing with MatBall, an experimental guitar player coming out of Montréal, Canada, for the majority of the tour. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is known by many to be one of the most important post-rock bands to come out of the 1990s. Formed in 1994 in Montréal by Efrim Menuck, Mike Goya, and Mauro Pezzente, Godspeed has cultivated a dedicated following, drawn to their production of incredibly intricate, layered emotional roller coasters of songs. In an interview with Maddy Costa, writer for The Guardian, the band writes, “things are not OK. Music should be about things are not OK, or else shouldn’t exist at all. The best songs ever are the songs that ride that line.” And ride that line they do, masterfully toying with fast and slow, loud and almost imperceptible, to convey raw emotions in ways words would fail to achieve. Godspeed has recorded with the independent label Constellation Records for their entire career, spanning almost three decades. They have always resisted commerciality, originally committing to rules of “no singer, no leader, no interviews, no press photos”. Though they have grown more amenable to the press as time has passed, proven by my receiving a press pass for this show, they continue to embody the same noncommercial ethos they began with as a band.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is also known for their open politicization of art and the personal, being
vocally anti-capitalist and against exploitation in all its forms. Being vocal critics of Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people as far back as the 2000s, the liner notes of the song “09-15-00” off their 2002 album Yanqui U.X.O. explain that the song “is ariel sharon surrounded by 1000 Israeli soldiers marching on al-haram ash-sharif & provoking another intifada.” Their most recent album most blatantly references the ongoing genocide in Gaza, its title boldly announcing the Palestinian death toll as of the album’s release. In the words of a UCSB graduate student who came up to the KCSB table to chat before the show, “if you’re not already a communist, you walk out a communist,” pointing to the radicalizing effect of their direct opposition to the exploitation of the many by the few.
Mat Ball is another experimental artist coming out of Montréal, Canada, who has been part of projects such as BIG|BRAVE and more recently WE ARE WINTER’S BLUE AND RADIANT CHILDREN, a group formed in 2024 of Godspeed’s Efrim Manuck, Mat Ball, and Jonathan Downs and Patch One from the band Ada. During his set, the first thing that struck me was his posture on stage, spending a good amount of time facing away from the crowd. Like a mad scientist, he crouched on the floor, fiddling with knobs to create sounds I could not even imagine, wielding his guitar’s abrasive feedback masterfully to add to the lush wall of sound he created. Typical of experimental performances, I could not tell you how many songs he played in the set; the sounds all meshed together to form a mostly continuous aural experience for the crowd. The non-melodic soundscape had the crowd rooted in place, taking it all in, with no signs of boredom despite their stillness. Mat Ball is also apparently a woodworker by night, and personally chose the kind of wood to be used to build his guitar, crafting an instrument personally tailored to the sound he sought to create. His apparent obsession with manipulating sound to captivate audiences makes him a perfect choice to tour alongside Godspeed.
Following Mat Ball’s set, the members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor emerged on stage without a word or any other sign of acknowledgement to the crowd. It is safe to say that my high expectations were met as soon as they began playing. Several people had told me that Godspeed is one of those bands whose live performances are unforgettable, and I quickly understood what they meant. I was the only photographer at this show, and I got full-body chills sitting in the center of the photo pit when their performance of “BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD” reached its crescendo. The crowd’s energy reflected similar feelings, with almost everyone banging their heads to the rhythm. Godspeed is known for the images they project behind them as they perform. They displayed various sorts of images, from geometric patterns to burning buildings. I didn’t pick this up while at the show, but KCSB’s Isabelle, who came to the show as well to table, told me afterwards that the front of house crew would periodically stop the physical film reels they were using to project images, letting the lightbulb burn the film slightly before resuming the reel. This has an actual visible effect on the projection, creating these splotches of melting images on the screen that accentuate the dramatism of their sound. Godspeed’s performance blew me away, and it has certainly set my expectations for live shows to come. They will continue on their North American tour until the end of January, but without Mat Ball. I am elated to have had the chance to see such a monumental band in such an intimate setting, and I wish them the best for all their future endeavors!