October 28, 2019

Riverfest Elora 2019: Day 1: Men Without Hats - Concert Photos

Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
Men Without Hats at Riverfest Elora on Friday, August 16, 2019 Photo by John Ordean at One In Ten Words oneintenwords.com toronto indie alternative live music blog concert photography pictures photos nikon d750 camera yyz photographer summer music festival guelph elora ontario
I follow a bit of a pattern when I cover Riverfest Elora. The schedule is organized so that when the main stage has an artist performing, the other two stages are quiet, and in between main stage performances, the two other stages have music simultaneously. For those other stages, I tend to capture the performance at the Koop Tent first, then head over to the Wax on Wheels stage, and then enjoy whichever artist most resonated with me for the remainder of their set.

This time I followed that pattern and headed over to see Men Without Hats after their set had begun. I have never seen the WoW stage so packed. It was actually difficult to navigate through the crowd that had packed the area to witness Men Without Hats’ set.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d seen Men Without Hats when they performed at The Ex back in 2018, You can check out my photos from that amazing show here. I was also stoked when I saw the cryptic announcement of Men Without Hats’ addition to the Riverfest Elora line-up.

So I knew they’d be great, I just didn’t quite expect that everyone else would be as excited as I was to see the band play tunes both classic and recent. They have emerged as one of my favourite live bands. Not content to play a set trotting out the classic tunes by rote; they play with vigour, power and enthusiasm that many younger bands would do well to emulate.

I came upon the band during “Antarctica” which was followed by “I Got the Message”, “I Like”, “Pop Goes the World”, “Head Above Water”, “The Girl with the Silicone Eyes”, an awesome cover of one of their favourite prog-rock songs, ABBA’s “SOS”, and finishing off with, of course, “Safety Dance”. Sorry, I’m not sure what songs I missed at the beginning of the set.

Check out some of the band’s music if you’re not familiar with them, and, really, see them live. They rock.

All of my Riverfest Elora 2019 posts can be accessed from one master post here. I hope you'll take a look and a listen.

"Safety Dance"

"Antarctica"

"I Got the Message"

"I Like"

"Pop Goes the World"

"Head Above Water"

"The Girl with the Silicone Eyes"

ABBA’s "SOS"