On a wintery Tuesday, Toronto’s History hosted a double feature in pure doomy stoner metal madness. December 9th saw the seventh stop in the House Of Mirrors Tour that had started in North Carolina and through the holidays, will continue into the beginning of March ending in Dallas, Texas. Rochester-based King Buffalo opened the night by slowly pulling the room into their orbit. Starting with the recorded intro of Ecliptic’s “Stranger Things”-esque synths before sliding seamlessly into Hours, it was truly a move that immediately set the tone for a trippy set built on volume, atmosphere, and lots of patience.…
Author: Darryll Magboo
On December 5th at Coca-Cola Coliseum, The Used joins Papa Roach on the Canadian leg of their “Rise Of The Roach” tour to celebrate 25 years since the release of Infest. Coming off of a stretch of their global 25th Anniversary album that started back in Spring and ended in Philly back in mid-November, it goes to show how much fuel the band can carry in the tank and how significant the year 2000 was for both bands. Focusing on their self-titled album from 2002, In Love and Death from 2004, and finally Lies for the Liars from 2007, their…
Toronto’s History became a venue-sized time machine on December 2nd, pulling the crowd straight back into one of the most important eras in hip-hop for a party fans will never forget. Raekwon and Mobb Deep brought their joint 30th Anniversary Tour to the city’s Beaches neighbourhood, celebrating two landmark records released in 1995: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and The Infamous. For anyone who grew up on grimy New York rap or studied it later like sacred text, this was a bucket-list show. It was definitely the hottest ticket in town for a lot of the old hiphop heads in…
On November 14, Toronto’s Queen West neighborhood was blessed with some incredible rock ‘n’ roll talent. Taking place at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern, Austin’s own Die Spitz and Boone-born Babe Haven joins the likes of bands such as The Curse, L7, Hinds, The Slits, NOBRO, and The Beaches as all-female powerhouses that have been able to bring their ass kicking music to such a storied venue – something that’s probably much needed to be the newest reminder that not only draft beer-loving old heads can thrive inside the Tavern’s divey atmosphere. 9 pm hits and Babe Haven storms the stage…
Out in Toronto’s Port Lands, a Wednesday crowd gathered at Rebel, the latest iteration of a revamped club venue that welcome a wide range of acts to a pretty interesting space and familiar to those that have lived in the city for some time. November 12 saw Danny Brown take his North American Fall tour there and with support from underscores, the weekday audience was in for a pretty special show. With the Stardust Tour, named after his newest album that dropped just the Friday before on November 7th, Danny hit the ground running kicking it off a couple of…
There are probably countless things you can find yourself doing on a Saturday night in downtown Toronto but on November 8th, indie rock lovers decided to see some awesome music from Minnesota at one of the cities most revered venues. Ticket holders were welcomed to Lee’s Palace via easy listening rock with the likes of Dosed by RHCP and Wish You Were Here by Incubus that really set a chill atmosphere like a calm before the storm in the layered space that would be filled to the brim hours later. The tour that kicked off with a hometown Minneapolis show…
For all those superstitious folk, 11/11 was a date that brought a unique range of music to History as The Mars Volta brings their North American Fall tour that features this single Canadian date in Toronto. Starting back on October 25 in Dallas, TX, this lone venture to the true North is just ahead of the halfway mark while the rest of the run works towards finishing back in US soil on November 29 in San Diego, CA. Supported by the mysterious electronic beat machine that is Feliz Y Dada and the battle-tested vocal technique of Kianí Medina, the tour…
Winter was knocking on Toronto’s door as another cold rainy night had people shivering as they lined up to see All Time Low on the North American leg of their Everyone’s Talking! World Tour. Not only is November 5th the only Canadian date on the tour, it also marks the first show in the second half of this leg. Based on that, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the show run like a well-oiled machine. Joining forces with Mayday Parade, Four Years Strong, and The Paradox, the evening was jam packed with all the good ol fashioned pop and punk…
A beautiful full moon night was a welcome one on November 4th when Thrice took their Horizons/West Fall Tour to Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall northeast from the downtown core. Promoting their album of the same name, this stop marks about halfway through North America and sees the first of two Canadian stops with the band taking the show to Montreal the next day. A clear counterpart to 2021’s Horizons/East, this also marks the band’s twelfth album in their ongoing 27 year run making this performance one fans could look forward to especially with the size of this prolific band’s discography.…
The evening rain fell upon the city of Toronto on October 19th but this didn’t stop fans of Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist from making the trek to the east end and lining up outside the doors of History – the ideal venue for concert goers that live out in the Beaches neighbourhood of the city. Ticket holders that slowly populated the space were greeted by a stage setup that placed what seems to be a small restaurant front that’s Japanese-inspired – obvious with the sign saying “Alfredo” in large red katakana as well as in the duo’s 2025 collaborative…
A chilly evening in downtown Toronto welcomed Wardruna and Chelsea Wolfe to grace the infamous Massey Hall’s stage on September 22nd. It was the perfect weather for an event that lured a crowd that looked to intersect between fans of folk music, black metal, vikings, occult imagery, and of course Massey Hall frequents that just understand how to appreciate a great sounding venue. And with that said, it felt like Chelsea Wolfe was a perfect opener. The only thing more impressive than her vocal range is her control and this was completely audible with Massey’s incredible acoustics. Joined by Ben…
In downtown Toronto, September 12th ushered in a Friday night rock show that was high-octane from start to finish. The Concert Hall (still affectionally referred to as “The Masonic Temple” by some) housed a classic combo of two openers to set up a killer headliner, all of which hailed from places across the country. It was a show that would make any Canadian rock fan proud of how much talent the true north can export and it was all there for ticket holders to enjoy. Up first, we start in the Maritimes with Brutal Youth – a band who have…
A two day spectacle with two of the biggest bands in metal? What a great way to kick off September in Toronto. Back in early December of 2024, System Of A Down announced that as part of their Toronto stop on in their North American Stadium Tour, they would be sharing the Rogers Stadium stage with fellow nu/alt-metal band Deftones on September 3rd. It only took three days for them to announce a 2nd show on September 5th after the first one sold out in minutes – always a good sign if you’re expecting a good show but always a…
After 4 days of nonstop music ranging from various genres and places, it’s not hard to understand why FME has been happening at the beginning of September since 2003. The annual festival happens in the city of Rouyn-Noranda nestled in the region of Abitibi-Témiscamingue – a quaint feeling place that is as honest as it is transformative to the people that make the trip out there. An area that seems to foster a strong sense of community and a slower pace of living, it adds to the character of the festival, almost like a warmness that makes it feel less…