The Watchmen at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

This show by The Watchmen at The Danforth Music Hall began a series of shows that spanned the new year, bringing me back to my younger days. The Watchmen was a band I used to listen to and see live a ton back in the early to mid 90s. My band often compared ourselves to The Watchmen in that we played generally accessible rock tunes with strong, clear vocals and driving beats.

That one of my all-time favourite singer/songwriters Ron Hawkins opened the show was the proverbial icing on the cake. My photos and thoughts on his set are here.

You’ll see that the next several posts will be from bands from around this same era and before. Guess there’s something in the December-January concert calendar that just brought these artists out for me. It’s actually been pretty cool.

The Watchmen played a stellar set featuring so many of my favourite tunes. They started off with "Middle East" and "Boneyard Tree" before "Soul Stealer" with a bit of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" and "Calm". That was followed by some trademark Daniel Greaves a cappella with a rendition of Tom Waits' "Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night". They brought out the acoustic instruments for a cover of The Tragically Hip's "Wheat Kings" and "All Uncovered". "Incarnate", "I Must to be Free", "Any Day Now", "Run and Hide" and "Absolutely Anytime" with a bit of The Clique's "Superman" (yeah, everyone thinks it's an R.E.M tune, but they covered it, too) filled out the rest of the main set.

The encore began with a solo keyboard performance of "Highwayman" by Daniel Greaves before the band returned for "Brighter Hell". They brought out Ron Hawkins to perform a rousing cover of Billy Bragg's "A New England". The whole show was supposed to wrap up with "Stereo", but a second encore was called by the impassioned audience. It featured "I’m Still Gone", "Say Something" with a bit of The Police's "Walking in your Footsteps" and the final closing tune of Tom Petty's "Square One"

It was an incredible night. Check out some of my favourite tunes from the show below, and click here for my photos from the last time I covered The Watchmen when they played Bandshell Park at The Ex. When I saw that show, I commented that I'd like to see them headlining their own show so I could hear more of their tunes live. I guess some wishes do come true.

"Boneyard Tree"

"All Uncovered"

"Any Day Now"

"Run and Hide"

"Absolutely Anytime"

"Brighter Hell"

"Stereo"

Ron Hawkins at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

Ron Hawkins. One of my absolute favourite singer songwriters. He and his guitar held us in rapt attention and musical bliss as he opened The Danforth Music Hall show for The Watchmen. I think it's pretty obvious that I loved his performance and loved hearing him sing his tunes along with the rest of the crowd.

His set started off with Lowest of the Low tune "Eternal Fatalist" with a bit of The Clash's "The Guns of Brixton" to celebrate the 39th anniversary of London Calling. That was followed by "Powerlines" from The Low's latest album Do The Right Now. Classic tune "Bite Down Hard" from Ron Hawkins and The Rusty Nails was next, followed by another recent tune "South Ontario". Ron brought out former Lowest of The Low sideman Steve Stanley for a couple of tunes, namely The Low's "Bleed a Little While Tonight" and Steve's "Minahbird". Ron continued the set with "Salesmen, Cheats and Liars", "Peace and Quiet" and one of my favourites of the favourites, "Black Monday". It's missing from my notes, and my memory's poor, but I have to assume Ron closed out with "Rosy and Grey". Correct me if I'm wrong.

As Ron himself commented, he definitely got a headlining band reception from the crowd. It was an amazing set no matter how you measure it.

Of course, I've covered Ron and The Lowest of the Low before. Check out my photos from The Low at The Danforth, Ron Hawkins and the Do-Good Assassins at TURF, Lowest of the Low at Festival of Beer, Ron Hawkins and the Do-Good Assassins at The Drake, Ron Hawkins and the Do-Good Assassins at The Horseshoe in 2014, and again in 2013, and Lowest of the Low at TURF in 2013.

Don't miss my photos of The Watchmen's headlining set here.

Enjoy some tunes:

"Eternal Fatalist"

"Powerlines"

"Bite Down Hard"

"Peace and Quiet"

"Black Monday"

Stars at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

Over the past fifteen years or so, Stars have gone from being a band crafting some of the most ambitious and emotionally connected indie pop tunes anywhere to being legends of the Canadian indie pop world. Their output has been consistently envelope-pushing and they’ve never rested on their laurels. So few artists ever get the chance to create a work as powerful, compelling and connected to their fans as Set Yourself on Fire has become. Some might be content to ride that wave and continue to create work in that vein for the rest of their careers. Not Stars, and probably not any true artist.

Stars showed us all just how much they’ve accomplished musically over the years with two sold-out shows at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall. The sets spanned their career from early tunes like “Elevator Love Letter” through personal favourites like "Ageless Beauty", Take Me to the Riot", "Dead Hearts", "Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It", "Trap Door", "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" (it's so glorious hearing everyone singing along), and "No One Is Lost", through to their most recent releases featuring tracks like "Alone" and "Ship to Shore".

Before the band played "Privilege" from their latest full-length release, There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light, Torq admonished the crowd by saying, "If you talk during this next song the ghost that you’re most afraid of will haunt you for the rest of your fucking life. It’s not a threat, it's science." If only that was true. Everyone standing around me near the back of the hall still yapped away.

Being a Christmastime concert, the finished out the night with their faithful yet uniquely-Stars cover of The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl's "Fairytale of New York".

I love this band, I love their music and I will forever want to continue experiencing their music, their live shows and to continue to capture their images at those shows. One thing that struck me as I watched this show was, "Was it really two whole years since I saw a Stars show?" Shocking that it was.

Check out our previous Stars coverage from The Danforth Music Hall in 2016, Wayhome 2016, The Phoenix in 2015, Nathan Phillips Square during the Pan Am Games, again at The Danforth back in 2015 and at Riot Fest in 2014.

My Brightest Diamond put on a fantastic opening set. Check out my photos here.

And enjoy a bunch of music from Stars setlist.

"Fluorescent Light"

"Elevator Love Letter"

"Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It"

"This Is the Last Time"

"Trap Door"

"Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"

"No One Is Lost"

"Fairytale of New York"

My Brightest Diamond at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

My Brightest Diamond is Shara Nova. She and her drummer opened for Stars at The Danforth Music Hall. Click here for those photos.

I enjoyed her soaring, ambitious, orchestral and almost operatic songs and delivery. It was one of the most fun-to-photograph artists in recent memory.

Check out some of her tunes below and don't miss her return to Toronto at The Velvet Underground on May 11, 2019. Her setlist from the Danforth show is here.

"It's Me on the Dance Floor"

"Rising Star"

"Be Brave"

"I Have Never Loved Someone"

Gang of Youths at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

I had heard great things about Gang of Youths' live show, so I was excited when I saw their name on the Osheaga line-up. Sadly, they couldn't make it to that show. When they announced their Toronto tour stop at The Phoenix Concert Theatre, I knew I didn't want to miss it.

The show started with David Le'aupepe taking to the stage solo and performing The Tragically Hip's "Ahead by a Centrury". That's a pretty sure way to get a Canadian crowd going. The show just went up and up from there, with incredible energy and a massive outpouring of love being exchanged between the band and the crowd. It was everything that I had expected and heard so much about.

I love watching fans who absolutely love the band they’re seeing. There were so many of those faces at this show and tons of singing along. Le'aupepe noted this when he stated how humbling it is to have 1,000 people in a foreign country singing along to his songs.

The evening featured fellow Australian Gretta Ray opening the show with her magnificent tunes. My photos of her are here.

Check out some tunes from their set.

"What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out?"

"The Heart Is a Muscle"

"The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows"

"Let Me Down Easy"

"Magnolia"

"Say Yes To Life"

Gretta Ray at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

Melbourne Australia singer songwriter Gretta Ray hit The Phoenix Concert Theatre stage solo ahead of Gang of Youth's headlining show. Ray's gorgeous and tender melodies filled the air and were embraced by the crowd.

This show was Ray's first Canadian show and she voiced how honoured she was that members of the audience were singing along to her songs.

Check out some of Gretta Ray's music below and click here for my shots of Gang of Youth's show.

"Drive"

"Radio Silence"

"Time"