February 26, 2017

Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Pictures

Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Japandroids at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
It was Celebration Rock that first got me into the powerful music of Japandroids. The Vancouver band produced a sound that was immense and aggressive, especially considering that there are only two of them. Their songs extend beyond punk and post-punk music to reveal layers of melody, dense sounds, dynamic shifts and an overarching uplifting spirit.

I caught their live show at The Phoenix Concert Theatre back in late 2012. It was before I got seriously into the concert photography thing but I still think I captured the spirit of being there. Back then, I predicted they'd be in a much bigger room next time they played Toronto and while they didn't play Rebel, the two nights at The Danforth definitely demonstrate their growing popularity.

Since I wasn't able to make it to their recent intimate show at The Horseshoe Tavern, I was determined to catch this show at The Danforth Music Hall. They spent two nights at the venerable venue making the crowds go wild. Whether you were up front in the pit partaking in the stage diving mayhem or whether you hung a little further back to rock out in less physically intense surroundings or whether you were in the plush comfort of the balcony seating, I'm willing to bet you had a great time. The band's ability to reach out to everyone and make them forget about the everyday with their music and performance is remarkable.

Before the show started, I thought I was going to get killed up front and questioned my judgement in being there. I wanted some great pics, but I'm not exactly a pit guy. It ended up totally fine. The crowd was great and thanks to a new concert buddy who let me in his spot for a few minutes, I got some cool shots and escaped unscathed.

The songs from the new album Near To The Wild Heart Of Life fit right in alongside the more familiar tunes from Celebration Rock and Post Nothing. New album cuts that made the set included the title track that opened the show, plus "No Known Drink Or Drug", "North East South West", "In A Body Like A Grave" and "Midnight To Morning". Set highlights for me included the new album title track, "Adrenaline Nightshift", "Fire's Highway", Evil's Sway", "Younger Us", "Arc of Bar", which features a cool sequenced hook and an awesome build to barely restrained mayhem, "The Nights of Wine and Roses", "Continuous Thunder", "Young Hearts Spark Fire", and "The House That Heaven Built". The set closed with Japandroids bringing Craig Finn back to the stage to perform "(I'm) Stranded" by The Saints with them. No encore, of course. The extended set that they played to mark their last Canadian show for a while was more than enough.

In a time when the political seems more foreboding, frightening and impossible than at any point in our lifetimes, it can be tempting to let it drag you down to the politicians' level. When Brian King mentioned that Japandroids were going to be spending a lot of time in the U.S. on their continuing tour, there was a bit of a groan from the crowd. He was quick to stop that and he noted that the people who were going to come to their U.S. shows, their American fans, are just like us. It's a good reminder that a country's leadership is not representative of the whole population and that we can't give in to the easy generalizations that plague our world. We're better than that.

Enjoy some of the awesome tunes that Japandroids crammed into their February 18 set.

"Near To The Wild Heart Of Life"

"Adrenaline Nightshift"

"Fire's Highway"

"Arc of Bar"

"The Nights of Wine and Roses"

"Young Hearts Spark Fire"

"The House That Heaven Built"

Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at Danforth Music Hall - Concert Pictures

Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers at The Danforth Music Hall February 18, 2017 Photo by John at  One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures
I'm a big fan of The Hold Steady. I've seen them live and photographed them a few times now. But I never saw Craig Finn performing without his Hold Steady bandmates until last week. Craig Finn and The Uptown Controllers are opening for Japandroids on their current tour and I caught their February 18 gig; their second night at The Danforth Music Hall.

Many of the folks who showed up early and gathered up front at the stage were there to see Craig. They were big fans of his solo work and The Hold Steady. Some of them weren't really too familiar with Japandroids.

Craig and the band took to the stage to enthusiastic applause and not only entertained his fans, but certainly won over many of the folks who were filling the hall who really weren't too familiar with his music. The songs featured the same vivid imagery and characters that permeate Hold Steady and LFTR PLLR tunes. Craig talked to us about his new album, which would be coming out after this tour. It's going to be called We All Want The Same Things and even though in the current political climate it doesn't seem that way, deep down inside he's probably right. At least I hope so.

Give a listen to some of Craig's music, from his setlist.

"Maggie I've Been Searching For Our Son"

"Jackson"

"Preludes"

"Be Honest"

"Terrified Eyes"

"Trapper Avenue"

February 22, 2017

February 14, 2017

Wayhome Line-Up - My Picks

Wayhome Music & Arts Festival has announced their 2017 line-up. Headlined by Imagine Dragons, Frank Ocean, Flume, Justice, Solange, Marshmello, Vance Joy, Schoolboy Q, Tegan and Sara and The Shins, plus a cool list of others and more TBA, it looks like another great festival.

Festival passes go on sale this Friday February 17! Don't miss this summer festival highlight!

Who would I most like to see from this stacked list of artists? Thought you'd never ask.

Click on the artist names for my shots of these artists from past shows!

Solange

Vance Joy

Tegan and Sara

The Shins

Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires

Constantines

Darcys

Death from Above 1979

Jagwar Ma

Magic Giant

Phantogram

Pup

Royal Blood

Tanya Tagaq

The Dirty Nil

The Drums

The Naked and Famous