Swmrs at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

The night that Swmrs headlined The Phoenix Concert Theatre was a big night of music. Four bands took to the stage and no doubt the crowd left the Phoenix exhausted after multiple circle pits and walls of death. Check out my photos of the other bands by following the links to Beach Goons, Goodbye Honolulu and Destroy Boys.

I've known Oakland California band Swmrs since I was introduced to 2016's Drive North. The new album Berkeley's on Fire sounded awesome and I knew I wanted to catch the live show.

Being between an enthusiastic audience screaming along with every word, and Swmrs' magnetic and dynamic frontman Cole Becker was an incredible rush. It's absolutely one of the best things, the treat, the thrill, the perk of doing this concert photographer thing. At the best times, you're in between a magical flow of energy between artist and audience, trying to capture it as best as you can with unpredictable lighting and action.

For this show, Swmrs only Canadian tour stop, they played a good mix of tunes from both of their full-length albums, giving the crowd more energy than most bands. That energy that I experienced while I was in the photo pit carried on and even from a spot about halfway back in the venue, the energy and magnetism of the performance was palpable. I think it goes without saying that I'd recommend you not miss these guys when they come through your town.

Here are my favourite tunes from their setlist.

"Trashbag Baby"

"Berkeley's on Fire"

"Too Much Coffee"

"Lose Lose Lose"

"Miley"

"Hannah"

"April in Houston"

"Figuring It Out"

"Palm Trees"

Beach Goons at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

The night that Swmrs headlined The Phoenix Concert Theatre was a big night of music. Four bands took to the stage and no doubt the crowd left the Phoenix exhausted after multiple circle pits and walls of death. Check out my photos of the other bands by following the links to Swmrs, Goodbye Honolulu and Destroy Boys.

Beach Goons are from sunny San Diego, a city I often wish I'd stayed in after working there for a couple of months many, many years ago. They dole out punky, groovy, danceable fun. They brought everyone together in a wall of death and closed their set with a cover of "La Bamba". I think they win the most entertaining bassist award, and not just for how he carried on playing when his strap fell off his bass.

Check out a bunch of their tunes below:

"Tar" "Hsrb" "Vatos" "Tristes" "Choker" "Hunny Bunnies" "A.M." and "Reservoir Dawgs"

Goodbye Honolulu at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

The night that Swmrs headlined The Phoenix Concert Theatre was a big night of music. Four bands took to the stage and no doubt the crowd left the Phoenix exhausted after multiple circle pits and walls of death. Check out my photos of the other bands by following the links to Swmrs, Beach Goons and Destroy Boys.

Local band Goodbye Honolulu were kind of a late addition to the bill. I'd seen them a few years back and liked their show, so I was looking forward to seeing them again. I love their varied tunes, the way they switch up vocals and instruments, and their highly entertaining drummer.

Check out their tunes below and my shots from their Horseshoe Tavern show in 2016.

"Typical"

"U Got It"

Destroy Boys at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

The night that Swmrs headlined The Phoenix Concert Theatre was a big night of music. Four bands took to the stage and no doubt the crowd left the Phoenix exhausted after multiple circle pits and walls of death. Check out my photos of the other bands by following the links to Swmrs, Beach Goons and Goodbye Honolulu.

Sacramento, California's Destroy Boys were up first. They were magnetic to watch and listen to. This was especially impressive because I didn't have a chance to check them out before the show. They were empowering, forming an all-girl pit to show how much fun it is, then encouraged the ladies to stay. They played a solid cover of Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings" and later got the crowd into their first wall of death of the night.

Destroy Boys put on a great show. Check out their music below, and don't miss their next gig.

"American River"

Wintersleep at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

I've seen Wintersleep live many times. I always love hearing their classic tunes and I love the way they keep pushing the envelope with their new music, consistently, album after album. This show was an especially great mix of old and brand new tunes.

Wintersleep keep me enthralled with their passionate delivery and cool jams. Damn, that drummer puts in a serious workout and gives it his all every single time. This was especially noticed during the last several songs. Check out their full setlist here and my favourites from the set below. Wintersleep's latest album In the Land Of is out now.

Partner opened up the show and my photos of their set are here.

As I mentioned, I've seen Wintersleep many times. Click through on the links to my shots of them at The Mod Club, The Danforth Music Hall, Riverfest Elora, Lee's Palace and at The Phoenix with Frightened Rabbit.

"Surrender"

"Into the Shape of your Heart"

"Never Let You Go"

"Forest Fire"

"Amerika"

"Spirit"

"Beneficiary"

"Weighty Ghost"

"Oblivion"

Partner at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

I've loved Partner since I first heard their music and witnessed their performance at Wavelength Festival back in 2016. Since then, I've seen them perform live many times. Most recently, it was their show opening for Wintersleep at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall. Click on through to check out my photos of Wintersleep's headlining show.

For this show, Partner was performing as a three piece with singer/guitarist Josée Caron in her usual role, Lucy Niles playing bass and a local drummer who I’ve seen in many bands holding down the beat. We heard older favourites like "Hot Knives", "The Ellen Page" and "Everybody Knows" alongside new songs like "Stoned Thought" and "Lost My Pick, Can I Borrow One?". They closed out with a cover of "Limelight" by Rush.

Check out my other shots of Partner's live shows at Hillside, Field Trip, Riverfest Elora, The Silver Dollar Room and Wavelength Festival.

And check out a bunch of their tunes from their setlist:

"Lost My Pick, Can I Borrow One?"

"Personal Weekend"

"Hot Knives"

"The Ellen Page"

"Everybody Knows"

"Creature In The Sun"

Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs at Jasper Dandy - Concert Photos

Toronto has lost some great music venues in recent years, like The Silver Dollar Room, and we've been waiting for literally years for another to open, like, say, the El Mocambo. In the meantime, Jasper Dandy is here and it made its mark with a three-week series of Friday-night concerts to celebrate. I was there for the first and third.

For the first night, we got Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs who are easily one of my favourite bands. They were preceded by openers Wine Lips. Click through here to check out my photos of their set.

Sam and his band deal in rock. Hard rock. With amazing hooks and catchy choruses. You might call it power pop. It's probably my favourite genre, dating back to childhood discoveries of bands like Cheap Trick and later discoveries like Thin Lizzy. I have a funny feeling that Sam and his band listened to similar bands growing up.

They played a ton of my favourite tunes, and I found out something new about the band; they filmed the "First Time" video at Jasper Dandy. Check it out below. We got to hear a new song that sounded amazing. Can't wait for the new album.

Take a listen to a bunch of Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs' amazing music and click to see photos I took of them at The Elora Brewing Company, at The Phoenix Concert Theatre and at Riverfest Elora last summer. And go see them live. They do not disappoint.

"Talk 2 Her"

"First Time"

"I: Ragnarok"

"II: Teenage Release"

"III: PHD"

"Tough"

"Judy"

Wine Lips at Jasper Dandy - Concert Photos

There's a new live music venue in town and it's called Jasper Dandy. It's just down the street from Queen East live music institution the Opera House and it features a sports bar up front and live music venue in the back. I was there for the first and third nights of their grand opening celebrations.

Toronto's Wine Lips were the first band to hit the stage. The power trio played what I'd classify as classic, garage, psych, jam tunes. Basically good hard rock.

Check out my photos here of Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs who headlined the night. They were incredible as always.

Take a listen to some Wine Lips tunes. I think you'll enjoy their energy and vibe. Then go see them live.

"Electric Lady"

"Shark Eyes"

"Opera Ghost"

"Out of Control"

Telekinesis at The Drake Underground - Concert Photos

I love that elusive genre called power pop. Seattle's Telekinesis embody the spirit of that genre, with hook-filled guitar rock tunes with catchy choruses and upbeat attitude. I've seen Telekinesis a few times now and they never disappoint with their high-energy tunes.

The band is on the road celebrating the release of their most recent album, Effluxion. It's a more piano/keyboard driven album than Michael Benjamin Lerner's typical guitar-driven tunes. Which brings us to the unique complication of this show; their keyboard player couldn't cross the border into Canada because she didn't have her passport. Ooops. The band personified the old saying, "The show must go on!", learning some tunes during soundcheck and powering forward with a different set than they intended, but a great set.

They featured a bunch of my favourite tunes like "Wires", "Please Ask For Help", "Power Lines", and "Tokyo", as well as other great tunes from across the band's catalog. They even gave a special treat to a couple in the front row. Seems that they used "I Saw Lightning" as their wedding song and Michael was gracious enough to perform it for them. Quite a special moment.

You can check out my photos of Telekinesis from performances at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern in 2015 and in 2013 by clicking here and here.

And check out my photos from Sontalk's awesome opening set.

Check out a bunch of my favourites from Telekinesis' setlist.

"A Place in the Sun"

"Courtesy Phone"

"Wires"

"Please Ask for Help"

"I Saw Lightning"

"Coast of Carolina"

"Power Lines"

"Tokyo"

And here's "Cut the Quick" from the new album, which they didn't play at the show: