Meghan Trainor  – Live in Toronto

When I’d said to a few friends that I was going to Meghan Trainor’s Toronto show they remarked that they’d never heard of her.  “Yeah you have” I replied, “You just don’t know it”.   “All About That Bass” was one of many monster radio hits for Meghan who was already a successful songwriter for a number of acts.   This background as a songwriter likely helped her avoid the sophomore curse that many major label artists hit (you spend your hold life writing your 1st album and 6 months writing the 2nd) with her 2nd album and live show showcasing her talents at handling a range of styles and genres with ease.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m a huge fan of live backing bands and Meghan’s band is outstanding.  Featuring a talented horn section, 2 great guitar players and more, this band handles the aforementioned genres with ease and along with the backup dancers gives Meghan a great energy to play off of.   My only gripe….backing vocal tracks.   I’d much rather see a group of vocalist handling Meghan’s backing vocals and harmonies than hear her singing to herself .  But she certainly isn’t miming – she’s a vocal powerhouse on stage showing great control and vocal finesse with here material….and she’s a great ukulele player too.

Maybe her greatest strength is her personality.   Meghan interacts with her audience in ways that you just don’t often see now.  Between songs she’s cracking jokes about herself, chatting with the crowd and jokingly berating an over excited fan who wanted to set Meghan up with a single friend.    She engages with a crowd who range from 8 years old to 80 and makes a sold out amphitheatre show feel like an intimate event.

 

We give this show a 4 out of 6ix.