Review | Photos: Deftones, Gojira, and VOWWS Brings The Heat To Sold-Out Houston Show

Who: Deftones | Gojira | VOWWS

Where: White Oak Music Hall | Houston, TX

When: April 30^th, 2022

After a long awaited 2 years of Covid rescheduling, Deftones finally made their (sold out) stop through Houston on the highly anticipated North American Spring tour. Special guest Gojira and VOWWs joined the Sacramento formed band which made this roster one hell of a lineup. If you know me, you know how deep my love for Deftones is, so saying I have been eagerly waiting for this pre-covid sold out tour was definitely an understatement. And let’s be real, I’m certainly not the only one who felt that way. Everyone knows Deftones fans are like a cult, we are one huge and weird family who literally just LOVE all things Deftones. I mean seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a show in my life where 80% of the crowd was wearing the headliners band-tee WHILE having what seemed like half a mile-long line just for the merch booth for more Deftones accessories… it was insane!

‘Death Pop’ VOWWS opened the night bringing in lots of excitement and electronic blasts to gather the sweaty crowd and get them even more hyped up for what was in store for the rest of the show. Songs including “The Season”, “Losing Myself in You”, and “Stranger” flooded listeners ears while the beer was flowing and the crowd was getting settled in. French metal lords Gojira then stormed in and blew everyone’s faces off with opening songs “Born for One Thing” and my personal favorite “Backbone”. Let me tell you, trying to take these photos while headbanging myself was a task. Not many people were prepared for how intense Gojira is and still, several days later, I have friends asking me “How am I just discovering how wicked good Gojira is?”

So, I’m going to take a moment now to say; if you’re still sleeping on Gojira, you better get up and catch one of their shows next time they are in your town and check out their newest album Fortitude… trust me, you will thank me later! Gojira, in my opinion, is legit one of the best metal bands this world has ever been blessed with, yet they still seem to fall under the radar and I think that really needs to change soon! These dudes are masterminds and deserve to be booking headlining stadium tours already.

After two incredible opening sets, Deftones finally took the stage and as expected, the huge fan-based crowd went absolute NUTS with opening songs “Genesis” and “Diamond Eyes” … the energy was just unbelievable. You can unquestionably notice that these guys put a lot into making this the best damn show to come through your city this year and to leave you stunned and strangely emotional. Deftones also played a huge variety from their catalog ranging from albums Saturday Night Wrist to Gore to White Pony and Around the fur… they covered it all and every single Deftones fan was LOVING it. Throughout the next hour I witnessed pure excitement from every human in the packed lawn, from kids to grown adults… it was truly a beautiful thing to be able to witness.

With a decently lengthy set of 19 songs, the band finished the night with two superb encores, “Lotion” and “Engine No. 9” which was clearly a brilliant selection for encores, since the crowed yet again, went wild. Deftones really outdid themselves with this tour, especially with the overall visual experience, Chino’s raging screams, and the obvious animated atmosphere… Being able to be there (as a fan) to review the show and to take photos was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life, that’s for sure.

Check out the galley below for some shots of the show!