Vance Joy brought the “In His Own Sweet Time” tour to Hamilton on February 15th. Opener Jack Botts opened the stage at FirstOntario Concert Hall and warmed the crowd with his roaring acoustic tunes. Joy brought the whole crowd to their feet with a booming sound brought by his full backup band. Going back to his roots and bringing out his ukelele, his vocals sound exactly like they do on the record. A beautifully lit show in a beautiful venue, Vance Joy is a must see for a live concert goer.
Author: Aron Harris
It’s a rare opportunity to see a pair of artists in a single night who are so clearly heading on an upward trajectory. Hype and profile will help that lift, but only talent will keep an artist aloft. While Suki Waterhouse has enjoyed the spotlight from her accessories brand, modelling and acting career, it could be that her work as a musician, singer and songwriter will eclipse her other gigs. Having a very busy 2022 releasing both her first full length album AND a followup EP, Suki spent the summer and fall opening shows for ADDICTED fave, Father John Misty…
The Andy Kim Christmas returned to Toronto’s Massey Hall on Wednesday, December 7th for its 18th annual concert. Every year Andy Kim gathers Canada’s greatest talents for an evening of music and celebration. This year’s lineup included classic acts such as Metric, Broken Social Scene, The Sadies, and even Toronto’s newest sensation, High Flyer. The night was filled with great cheer with all proceeds donated to CAMH Gifts of Light. PHOTOS AND WORDS BY CHRISTINA MAC
Hometown heroes close another strange year at History. Not long after Alvvays’ sophomore album, Blue Rev, was released last fall, the question wasn’t whether it was good or not, it was where exactly the album would average out on all the various album of the year lists. It didn’t take a seemingly informed music critic to hear just how damn good the songs were on this album. As acclaim was published again and again, Alvvays fans just wanted to hear their new faves live. On December 15, Toronto’s faction was treated to their first listens. The cold, wet night was…
Two iconic Brit-rock bands relive a shared show on the road While neither band is a stranger to the touring road, way back in 1994, Manic Street Preachers and Suede zigzagged throughout Europe together on a 20-show run that cemented their friendship. 28 years later, to the night, instead of playing Paradiso in Amsterdam, they closed their tour together at Toronto’s Massey Hall. Suede opened the night with She Still Leads Me On and then Personality Disorder from Autofiction, the album the London quintet released this fall. Belying his 55 years, frontman Brett Anderson remained dialed to ten for the…
One of Canada’s biggest stars brings charm and warmth to Toronto’s History In support of her 2022 album, Yessie, Jessie Reyez performed her first of two sold-out hometown shows at History on Nov. 28 & 30. Between collecting a few fans’ bras, she blended A+ banter with her fans into a curated selection of songs. In speaking to her fans with humour and poetic eloquence, she was clearly excited to be back at home before an audience bursting with love and support. Entering the dark stage with Mood, Reyez moved through faves such as Shutter Island, Break Me Down, Queen…
Bright Eyes came to Toronto’s History on November 9th to play from their latest wave of their Companions project. The Companions project has the band rereleasing their entire catalog, but new recordings now accompany each album. The opening band, Hurray for the Riff Raff made sure to get the crowd ready for the exciting night with their hard-hitting lyrics and punchy guitar lines. Bright Eyes’ frontman, Conor Oberst took the stage with a full backing band of synths, violin, pedal steel, and many more instruments played throughout the night. Oberst jumped between guitar, and piano and twirling along to the band’s reworked takes…
Canada’s cock rock ambassadors celebrate a new album and a birthday boy. Following a crashing finish to San Quentin, the opening track of Nickelback’s new album, Get Rollin’, Chad Kroeger told a hyped crowd that this was the band’s first proper show in just over four years. Unlike their last show before something like 100,000 Rock in Rio audience members, History hosted a mere but mighty 2,500 Nickelback fans. A dual party to celebrate Chad Kroeger’s 48th birthday and the release of their 10th studio album on Nov. 18, the band worked through a handful of faves from throughout their…
GANE WATCHES TO RELEASE NEW MODEL VIA KICKSTARTER Back in April 2022, I reviewed the Gane Type C2 Automatic. I liked this watch, from the tonneau case shape to the thick leather strap to the overall vintage styling. My sole complaint about this watch was the logo and dial graphics. You can read the entire piece over here. Full disclosure: after my review came out, Gane Watches founder and designer Raymond Pee contacted me to discuss revising the Gane logo and dial graphics for a new model. Ray and I collaborated on these new designs, which can be seen in…
Known for his vocal prowess, Nigerian-born English singer-songwriter Jacob Banks headlined at HISTORY on October 26, 2022, along with Australian singer-songwriter Meg Mac. Fans were thrilled to see both artists as they were set to perform songs from their recently released albums, Matter of Time (Meg Mac) and Lies About the War (Jacob Banks). Meg Mac set the tone and captivated the audience as she reflected on her real-life experiences and struggles that were translated through her music. Highlights like Letter, and Is It Worth Being Sad, showed her intentions and profound meanings that connected throughout her performance. With the…
Xylo brought the Unamerican Beauty tour to Toronto’s Drake Underground on October 26, 2022. This is her first tour debuting the album. Embarking as a solo act, Xylo was known as a duo before her brother’s departure in 2018. The last time she toured Toronto was on her Yes & No EP tour in July 2019. The atmosphere in the venue was perfect as her fans were well-engaged right from the start. The intimate setting allowed her to interact with fans as she took them through a variety of emotions throughout the night. Xylo performed album tracks like Unamerican Beauty, Home Video, and Don’t Let Them…
Latin-tinged prog rockers reform for their first tour in a decade. Birthed from the ashes of post-hardcore band At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta allowed vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López to move their music in a variety of directions. Somehow melding prog, psychedelic and experimental rock with metal and jazz topped with Mexican and Puerto Rican flair, their highly original sound turned the heads of both music fans and critics. The band released six albums between 2003 and 2012 before tensions strained the relationship between the founding members. Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-López parted professional ways publically in early 2013.…
English rock band Muse performed in front of a sold-out crowd at HISTORY on October 14, 2022, making the third stop on the North American leg of their October Threatre Tour. This is the band’s first time back to Toronto since 2019. Words and photos by Von Valdez. Kicking off the show was Canadian alternative rock band, Softcult, comprised of twin sisters Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn. The crowd seemed familiar with the openers as they are also core members of local band, Courage My Love. After Muse took the stage, Matt Bellamy (vocals and guitar) did not shy away,…
Rock stalwarts finally get to make good on their Gigaton tourPearl Jam, ever at the vanguard of music and its industry, was among the first artists to take the early days of COVID-19 with caution. On March 9, 2020, a few weeks prior to the release of their 11th album, Gigaton, the band announced that they were postponing the supporting tour. Toronto was set to be the launchpad show for that tour. In January 2020, ADDICTED was excited for a very strong season of upcoming live shows that year, with this one high on the list. 904 days later, Toronto…