Steel Panther at History - Concert Photos

It was 1987 at Toronto’s history last week when Steel Panther came through town on their On the Prowl tour. 

The band is a consistent fan favourite and their fans took full advantage of the opportunity to don their favourite 80s metal gear and try to forget for a moment that its 2023 and we’re getting ever increasing amounts of gray hair.

If you’ve ever been to a Steel Panther show -- and there were many, many people in attendance who had been to multiple Steel Panther shows, and also many, many people out at their first Steel Panther show --then you know what you’re going to get: their own brand of 80s hair metal tunes that set the clock back a few decades, hilarious off-colour on-stage banter and interaction with the crowd, and a whole bunch of spandex, wild guitars and lots of hair, all from a band that executes the genre with faithfulness and irony from the clothes to the lyrics to those 80s print, Floyd Rose equipped Charvel guitars. They’re all fantastic musicians, and everyone leaves with a smile on their face. Check out the setlist here.

BRKN Love had the honour of warming up the crowd for Steel Panther. My pics of their set are here.

Check out my pics of Steel Panther from shows in 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014.

BRKN Love at History - Concert Photos

Los Angeles' hard rock band BRKN Love warmed up the crowd at History before headliners Steel Panther took to the stage. They're led by Toronto's own Justin Benlolo, and play big rock tunes with powerful vocals, heavy guitar riffs, and bass and drums that pound out the beat, bring the low end and drive your bangin' head.

They played a bunch of their tunes and threw in a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" that featured a killer dual guitar solo. If you're a hard rock fan, check out BRKN Love's music. There's lots to love.

In case you missed them, my pics of Steel Panther's set are here.

Here's the song BRKN Love closed their set with, "Shot Down"

Spoons at The Ex - Concert Photos

Burlington, Ontario 80s new wave legends Spoons performed on the Bandshell stage at this 2023 edition of The Ex. I've covered the band a whole bunch, most recently at this year's Riverfest Elora.

It's always a treat to hear some of my favourite 80s Spoons classics like "Arias & Symphonies", "Old Emotions", "Nova Heart", "Romantic Traffic" and "Tell No Lies", plus some new tunes, like "First and Last Time". The band sounded great and put on a fun, crowd-pleasing performance.

If you like, check out my previous Spoons coverage, at Riverfest Elora 2023, at The Great Hall in 2019, The Ex in 2018, The Ex in 2016, and The Ex in 2014.

And here's the classic, "Romantic Traffic"

Dominic Fike at Massey Hall - Concert Review

Dominic Fike put on an incredible show in Toronto at Massey Hall for his Don’t Stare at the Sun Tour on Sunday night. He performed many of the songs off his most recent album, “Sunburn”, which was released on July 7, as well as many of his classic hits such as “3 Nights” and “Why”. 

Although he fell ill just two days prior after his previous show in Detroit, he was able to put on an energetic performance thanks to the doctors that helped him recover. He was very engaged with the crowd throughout the show by jumping around different areas of the stage and encouraging the audience to sing along. There was evidence of a true connection between him and his fans. He was willing to sign some fans’ merchandise and put on articles of clothing that fans tossed to him on stage. 

During the second half of the set, Dominic put on an amazing acoustic performance where he showcased his guitar skills through a new unreleased song, as well as the very emotional track “Dark”. Fans were able to connect with him by waving their flashlights during this part of the show, demonstrating their true love and support for him. 

Between songs, Dominic mentioned his love for Canada in general, mentioning his obsession with the country as a child where he collected Canadian coins and anything with polar bears on it. He also shouted out his bassist who is a true Torontonian and had his family at the show. Dominic Fike is a truly talented artist with a real love for his fans, which resulted in a remarkable show that fans will look back on as a great memory.

Take a listen to "3 Nights"

Review by Sarah Ordean

Riverfest Elora 2023: A compendium of posts - Concert Photos

Riverfest Elora is my favourite summer music festival. It combines artists I love with new artists that I've never heard of that find a permanent spot in my music library. The vibe of the festival is chill and inviting, friendly and fun.

The 2023 edition of the festival is also their lucky 13th festival, and my sixth. And there wasn't a drop of rain during the festival!

Thanks to the Riverfest Elora team for curating and orchestrating an amazing weekend of music, fun, food and friends. And, of course, for granting me access to capture the images of the festival performers.

Follow the links below to individual posts on each artist that I covered.

Friday, August 18

The Reklaws

Matt Mays

Renforshort

Spoons

Shred Kelly

Adam Baldwin

Myst Milano.

Saturday, August 19

Metric

JJ Wilde

Talk

The Aggrolites

Rêve

Aviv

Fake Shark

Maestro Fresh Wes

Boogey the Beat

CJ Wiley

Vince the Messenger

Michael Costantini

Animal Boy

Sunday, August 20

Feist

Charlotte Cardin

Leif Vollebekk

Mobley

Kellie Loder

Skye Wallace

K-Man and the 45s

Shebad

Anna Padock & The Lay Awakes

Jiggity James

This was my sixth time covering Riverfest Elora. You can check out my coverage of previous years' through these links:

2016

2017

2018

2019

2022

I'm already looking forward to next year...