Like an early Christmas present, T-dot legend and Mississauga-born Shawn Desman took his Back To Life Tour to History – the newest east-end venue where the city was treated to a night of nostalgia and wholesome celebration just in time for the holidays. If you grew up in the GTA in the early 2000s, the dancer/choreographer turned singer/songwriter superstar became a household name with his memorable radio hits and capturing the “coolness” of the culture as it was loved during the time, reminiscent of artists like Snow and Kardinal Offishall who were able to do the same and weave themselves as legends in the tapestry of Toronto’s cultural history. With that said, it made sense that the tour was Canada-wide to focus on the country that welcomed his music. Announced back in late May bringing Shawn “back to life” from all the recent fan love, the dates kicked off early November in Fredericton with a final show in Ottawa but an official announcement in September saw fans ecstatic to hear that it would be capping off in Toronto two days after that last date. It can’t feel more right than finishing a tour where the story all began.
Hailing from the nation’s capital, Jamie Fine took the stage first as the opener to showcase her flavour of pop that colours the heart. She was ready to go as soon as that giant logo of her name lit up the background and you could tell, even if she went on stage without her cap that had “GAMEDAY” covering the entirety of the front. It was really her energy towards the crowd and how she performed the emotional range of her set that really showed it. Especially with the reception on Body, the Shawn Desman track she featured on back in March that helped fuel the hype for the tour (and they performed together later that night), Jamie as the opener felt like the natural choice.
Songs like you’re like and wait for forever to kick things off painted a beautiful picture of what the rest of the set would sound like: full of music that revolved around human connection that feels hopeful like triumph is just around the corner. Supported by live guitar and drums, the trio on stage just played songs that are straight-up pleasant to the ears. Part of this was getting into fun covers like Rihanna’s Umbrella, Beyonce’s Crazy In Love, and even Jimmy Eat World’s The Middle before going back to going into her bread and butter with the catchy If Anything’s Left and even catchier Ain’t Easy – the 2019 radio hit with Elijah Wood and the oldest song in the set that really showcased how much she’s evolved into her solo work. A cover of Coldplay’s Fix You right into give me one more night felt like a match made in heaven as well. After she showcasing her newest track at the time homesick, then going into bulletproof (both very emotional in their own ways), Jamie wrapped the set in a beautiful bow with For You – a track that talks about loving yourself, loving someone, and feeling loved – a pretty ending that gives a feel-good satisfaction to her set and creates the perfect calm right before the storm.
Once a quarter after nine hits, SD took the stage with a radiant aura donning a bomber jacket with red sequins like he was just drafted by the Toronto Raptors in 2023. With his eyes on the crowd and a huge smile on his face, you could really see him trying to soak it all in and be present in the moment – something that happened a lot throughout the night and can you blame him? Like he mentions mid-set, his first album came out 23 years ago and “people still care about Shawn Desman”. Love and appreciation from Shawn and the audience filled History to the brim that carried out the entire night. If there was an underlying theme for this set, this was it.
Shawn’s set didn’t waste any time creating a sense of shock and awe starting the show with a trifecta of his hits like Electric, Let’s Go, and the unforgettable Get Ready. These starting tracks alone were a huge treat for fans that have been with Shawn in the 2000’s – the ones singing along in the crowd and saw the debut of the infamous “sidewalk” haircut in 2005. With the latter of the bunch being his first major music video as a solo artist, it might be one of, if not, his most familiar track but with this performance, the tour’s title begins to make more sense. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s The Message was weaved nicely into the 2002 hit breathing new life into his instant classic.
Michael Jackson’s Human Nature blended with Spread My Wings and Drake’s NOKIA had a back and forth with Nobody Does It Like You. Later in the show’s climax, Where The Ladies At? joined forces with the SD powerhouse Shook too that got the crowd extra fired up. It’s a display that shows how tuned in Shawn’s been with music culture but also how much thought he put into the tour. As always, his choreography is on point supported by dancers Serena Tran and Jenna Shortt, and with a three-piece band covering keys, drums, and bass (professionally held down by Kirk Grange, Chris Blair, and Juwayon Clarke respectively), the production is quite top tier for what History can contain and he made sure to give credit to his support on the stage where it’s due.
After a wardrobe change into a cozy black outfit, the audience was also treated with a medley of Heels On The Ground, Red Hair, Movie Star, and Sexy digging deeper into Shawn’s catalogue and takes you back to that Jessica Alba music video (if you know, you know). Deeper cuts like Dum Da Dum and Maniac followed which was a good one-two punch from the later era of SD’s work. And if the crowd wasn’t amped enough by all of the covers thus far, Shawn paid homage to the 80s with a medley of songs including Holiday, Heaven Is A Place On Earth, and I Wanna Dance With Somebody that really gave Toronto lots of chances to lose their voice for the next day.
The night was full of other surprises as well and this is excluding a third wardrobe change into a swaggy Canadian tuxedo as he worked through his fiesta of a set. Giving the Toronto crowd everything he could possibly offer, Shawn Desman also shared the spotlight with artists and friends Sofia Camara, Lu Kala, and even a performance of Miami with Fito Blanko & Aiona Santana. His daughter came out for a quick dance number showing off the genes she got from her dad and even mom got a piece of the action giving Shawn a surprise lapdance while he tried to keep himself contained. It was as G-rated as a lapdance could get because after all, it was an all-ages show and there were definitely some children scattered in the crowd. And while this may have meant that (naturally) a lot of Shawn’s early fans are now parents taking their kids to see live music, it also makes you think about how his songs can exist across generations with this show potentially being a formative memory. Either way, the show was just jam-packed with so much genuine fun, laughter, and other moments of joy.
One last surprise for Shawn was during the set’s finale that saw him joined on stage by some of his longtime dancer friends for an extra nostalgic performance of Night Like This. The ending was grand with confetti blasted into the ceiling like he just won the lottery. Joined by so many friends, family, and fans, that comparison doesn’t seem outrageous at all. By this point, it’s wild that Shawn still had an encore ahead after all of the work he’d put in and the ground he’d covered.
As promised by Jamie Fine earlier in the show though, SD came out, tarps off in celebratory fashion as if he just won a finals championship. You’d feel like a winner after crushing almost a 2 hour set at your sold-out homecoming show too. But before getting into the final stretch of the show, Shawn went through a list on his phone of everyone he made sure he wanted to thank. With tears starting to form in his eyes, this list included all of family that showed up in the crowd. Toronto was treated to some stories about his childhood and overall, just the right vibes to take back to your family for the holidays and to appreciate time spent together. A beam of light was focused up on the balcony as Shawn shared the spotlight one last time with the people that mattered the most to him.
With lots of confetti still stuck on the ceiling beams of the venue, Shawn gets into the final stretch of his show. The 2 song encore started with One Good Life, a new feel-good country song collab released just the month before with Dallas Smith. Prefaced with “did you ever think about Shawn Desman and country music?”, it’s hard to say anyone really saw that future coming just like the last song of the night being Electric that took it back to where the show started. But to emphasize bringing the past ‘back to life’ one last time, the enduring Rob Base & EZ Rock track It Takes Two was mixed into the song this time around for a fun finale that brought things full-circle to wrap up the night.
No matter what, there can only be huge shoutouts to Shawn for his achievements thus far. 23 years in the business (and still performing) isn’t something just anyone could say they accomplished and is truly a feat to be proud of especially in the Canadian music scene. And with that, maybe a venue called History is more fitting than ever – the show was one for the books for fans both young and old as well as another end to a chapter of a story that feels neverending.