Photo Gallery – Culture Club live at Rebel Toronto
Reviews
Die Antwoord – Photos & Review – Toronto 2016
Die Antwoord – Rebel – October 16, 2016
Review & Photos by Elisabeth Isles.
It’s an interesting thing, watching Die Antwoord play to such a rabid crowd. If anything, it’s a litmus test on the fringes of youth culture, with the South African duo of Ninja and Yolandi garnering major attention for their experimental, alt-culture hip hop. If you need evidence that there’s space in society for artists beyond the typical EDM/rap offerings, you just need to look at Die Antwoord to see that even the weirdos need heroes.
The carnivalesque quality of their performance – complete with multiple outfit changes, confetti blasts, backup dancers, and their DJ, God, throwing down a healthy heap of block-rocking beats – would be an easy translation into a Vegas show, if said Vegas show required every person in the audience to eat some shrooms beforehand. Obviously it’s weird, with a lot owing to the shock value of it all. But even if you’ve seen it before (as I suspect many in the audience at Toronto’s Rebel Complex had,) it was still enthralling. And, in the crowded era of digital blips on the music spectrum, that’s certainly worth something.
On tour in support of their fourth album, 2016’s Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid, the band played to a packed room full of ravers, hipsters, and curious third-parties. Die Antwoord were energetic and constantly asking their audience for more – jumping around with their arms raised, leading crowd-wide sing alongs to songs like “We Have Candy”, “Ugly Boy”, “I Fink U Freeky”, and “Enter the Ninja”.
They’re smart with what they do, this much is clear; and obviously they’re heavily invested in the personas that has afforded their experimental sounds increasingly larger stages. While rumours recently swirled of the band’s imminent demise, it’s hard to think they’d give up such a powerful platform. As fans happily piled out of Rebel after the band’s 20-song, 70-minute set, you absolutely have to appreciate that Die Antwoord’s found a way to subvert norms, push boundaries, and occupy an apparently much needed space in not just music, but culture in general.
The Heavy Live in Toronto
The Heavy – Live at the Phoenix in Toronto. Photos by Elisabeth Isles.
Steven Tyler live in Toronto – Review and Photo Gallery
Steven Tyler w/ Loving Mary – Sony Centre for the Performing Arts – September 13 , 2016
Photos and Review by: Darren Eagles
It was an odd night in the city of Toronto this past Tuesday at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. Certified Rock n Roll icon and arguably one of the few “old guardians” of the dirty days of Rock, Steven Tyler rolled into town. But not with his venerable bad boys of Boston band mates Aerosmith, no, this time he brought along a country band. While letting that sink in might be a tough sell for his legions of fans worldwide, the reality was Tyler’s raspy vocals and time tested song writing chops lent well to new country sound that comes through on his just released country solo album “We’re All Somebody From Somewhere” . Hailing from Nashville, Tyler’s backing band, Loving Mary, is a 6 piece band headed by hometown artist, Suzie McNeil.
As the lights dimmed, the unmistakable wail of Tyler’s voice came crashing through the speakers at the soundboard as he yelled “Let’s Go”, signalling he was ready to get the train rolling. Opening the show with a pair of Aerosmith tunes, “Sweet Emotion” and “Cryin’”, the crowd was on their feet and never sat down. Probably the most stressful scenario for a band is to play their temporary frontman’s road worn and fan tattooed songs, and try to give them the life that his other band, the original band, gives them nightly on tour. While all the Aerosmith songs sounded different, a twang here, a fiddle or banjo there, the spririt and energy came through wonderfully. And Tyler pranced and posed his way around the stage as he always does, taking selfies with front row fans and interacting with all the ladies.
A large video screen behind the stage served as a photo album for Tyler to use to share interesting stories of his beginnings in the business, meeting Joe Perry, mowing the lawn in a Speed, less than sober backstage escapades etc. The setlist was nicely filled with Aerosmith work, along with some Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and an Erma Franklin cover of “Piece Of My Heart”. The band played 5 cuts off the new album including the first single “Love is Your Name”. Tyler seems to have settled into the role of fronting a country band nicely, even though the rock songs in the set fit him like a well worn pair of jeans.
A surprise announcment came from Tyler as he introduced the next song as Suzie McNeil’s hit Canadian Olympic anthem “Believe”. Clearly McNeil had no idea she would be performing that song this night. But she rose to the occasion and nailed a nearly perfect version for the hometown Canadian crowd
The nearly 2 hour show ended with a cover of Tiny Bradshaw’s, and more famously Aerosmith’s hit “Train Kept A-Rollin”. It was a great show, for fans of Aerosmith, fans of Tyler, and fans of good music played by talented musicians, country or otherwise.
Setlist:
Sweet Emotion
(Aerosmith song)
Cryin’
(Aerosmith song)
I’m Down
(The Beatles cover)
Come Together
(The Beatles cover)
Piece of My Heart
(Erma Franklin cover)
Rattlesnake Shake
(Fleetwood Mac cover)
Jaded
(Aerosmith song)
Love Is Your Name
I Make My Own Sunshine
What It Takes
(Aerosmith song)
We’re All Somebody From Somewhere
Believe
(Susie McNeil song)
My Own Worst Enemy
Dream On
(Aerosmith song)
Walk This Way
(Aerosmith song)
Encore:
Janie’s Got a Gun
(Aerosmith song)
It Ain’t Easy
Train Kept A-Rollin’
(Tiny Bradshaw cover)
Photo Gallery – Meghan Trainor Live in Toronto
Review – Meghan Trainor Live in Toronto
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.
Korn and Rob Zombie – Concert review and photo gallery
Korn and Rob Zombie – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre – August 23, 2016
Photos and Review by: Darren Eagles
Two of hard rock’s heavy hitters joined forces for a thundering show at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto. Korn and Rob Zombie brought their A-game’s to the nearly sold out crowd of metal and horrorcore fans Tuesday night. Rob Zombie opened the night with his signature theatrical gore inspired set, complete with video screens showing all manner of disturbing imagery, and oversized demon-ghoul backdrops. Guitarist John5’s side of the stage was a throwback to 70’s culture with a giant ghetto blaster as his guitar amp rig. From high atop video screen risers at the front of the stage, Zombie, John5 and bassist Piggy D broadcasted their message to the eager fans below. Zombie moves with the speed of a cheetah on stage, with monster sized fringed leather suits flailing, and wielding his creepy demon mic stand like a hapless victim in one of his gruesome videos. The setlist was hit heavy, with White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human” and Zombie’s “Dragula” as standouts. New song “Well, Everyone’s Fucking in a U.F.O.” was showcased as well. Before the encore, Zombie showed a trailer for his epic gorefest movie “31”, releasing on September 1st.
After the complete stage transformation, Korn brought the bass, the ear shattering, concrete crumbling BASS. Opening the show with “Right Now”, singer Jonathan Davis and the crew wasted no time getting the mosh pit moving. It’s mesmerizing to watch the long dreads on guitarist Brian “Head” Welsh and guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer as they are literally banging their heads for nearly the whole show. Davis cradles his iconic H.R. Giger inspired otherworldly female-formed mic stand and spits his vocals with the same ferocious abandon that he’s done for years. On the kit Ray Luzier, and bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu generate the band’s monsterous wall of bass that is at the heart of all of Korn’s songs. A heart pounding, brain shaking symphony that just makes you want to break shit. The setlist was basically all their biggest hits, with one new track, “Rotting in Vain” from their upcoming October release called “The Serenity of Suffering”.
A solid 5 out of 6 for this show.
