Conan Gray is quite a sensation. From millions of social media followers to millions of song streams, he has captured something special that's resonated strongly with his young audience. He played a sold-out Rebel in Toronto and I got to capture these photos at the show.
Please check out my photos of Umi, who opened the show, right here.
Conan's set was down-to-earth and chill (but he doesn't like the cold). A huge proportion of the crowd sang along with every word of every song. That's quite powerful. He played a new song from forthcoming debut album called "The Story" and commented that all the messed up friends were here at Rebel. That's good company to be in. We're all at least a little messed up, aren't we?
Born in Seattle and now based in Los Angeles, singer-songwriter Umi and her talented band opened up the show for Conan Gray at Toronto's Rebel. My shots of Conan's set are here.
Umi showed off her beautiful voice and cool, peaceful vibe to the delight of the crowd. She even played a great cover of Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On" as a shot of familiarity for newcomers like me.
Legendary Olympia, Washington indie-rock band Sleater-Kinney released their most recent album, the Annie Clark (St. Vincent) produced The Center Won't Hold, this past summer and headed out on the road. They stopped into Toronto's Rebel for a show featuring tunes from across their accomplished career.
The Interrupters are one of the best, feel-good, soul-enriching, smile-inducing live bands I've ever seen. Their always-positive and empowering, high energy, bouncing tunes are some of my favourites ever. Their live show is inspiring and lifts the heart and soul. They work so hard to connect on a positive level with everyone at their shows.
This was my second time seeing The Interrupters this year. The first was a few months back when they played The Danforth Music Hall. Please check out those photos here. They're relentlessly touring their latest album Fight the Good Fight, and the audience growth between the Danforth and Rebel shows that they're winning that fight and being joined by more and more fans. In fact, when they asked fans to shout out for whether they've seen the band before, or whether this was their first time seeing them, it seemed like the loudest cheer went up for the people who were seeing them for the first time. I'm sure they won't forget this incredible show.
They dedicated "Title Holder" to those fighting their own good fight against things like depression and PTSD. They played their cover of Billie Eilish's mega-hit "Bad Guy" lending it a ska-revival groove. They had asked fans to vote for the songs that they'd most like to hear live, that the band don't usually feature in their set. "The Valley", from 2016's Say It Out Loud was apparently the winner so we got to hear that album track. Then they got everybody up front to participate in a wall-of-death, for unity of course, before "I Gave You Everything".
They continued with a quasi-encore featuring a bit of "Summer of 69" as a Canadian tribute, followed by their awesome cover of Berlin's "The Metro". The Interrupters acknowledged this as their biggest Canadian show and they reminisced about their first Toronto show at Hard Luck and how their first-ever headlining show was in Canada, too. They thanked us for being family by playing "Family", as we thanked them for being family, and bringers of positive, infectious, feel-good ska tracks, and they closed out with "She's Kerosene".
Please check out some of my favourite Interrupters tunes from their super-solid setlist below. They were joined on this night by Skinny Lister and Sharp/Shock. My photos of their sets are here and here.
This time they were playing the stage at Rebel sandwiched between headliners The Interrupters and openers Sharp/Shock. Please click through for my photos of those sets.
Skinny Lister put on a consistently great show. Their music and performance is so full of positive energy, danceable beats and shout-along choruses that I think it would be near impossible to have anything but an empowering and heart-lifting time at one of their shows. This set featured a great mix of songs both new and old and closed with my favourite tune of theirs, "Trouble on Oxford Street".
As the set progressed, I wondered how they'd pass around the flagon at a venue this size. Sadly, that tradition seems to be limited to more intimate shows.
Please check out some of Skinny Lister's music. I've included some tunes from their setlist below. I'm sure you'll like what you hear and won't miss their infectious energy next time they hit up your town on tour.
In spite of strong british accents, we are assured that Sharp/Shock are from Southern California. They tell us that they all met and reside in Southern California, so I'll accept their geographical home base and birthplace of the band as SoCal.
I'd describe them as a fun punk band with strong pop sensibilities. This show marked their first time in Canada and they made the most of it with a strong set that engaged the crowd. It featured a cover of The Buzzcocks "Ever Fallen in Love".
Check out some of their tunes below, and please check out my shots from the other bands on the bill on this night at Rebel: Skinny Lister and headliners and one of my favourite live bands, The Interrupters.
King Princess played a sold out show at Toronto's Rebel. I captured these shots at the show. Hope you enjoy them, and a few tunes from her setlist below.
Girlpool opened the show. My photos from their set are here.
"Prophet"
"Pussy Is God"
"Upper West Side"
"1950" from Later... with Jools Holland. The very first time I experienced King Princess' music. I was instantly sold.
"Hit The Back"
Tynomi Banks helped energize the crowd with her energetic, crowd-pleasing set.
Los Angeles, California indie rock / lo-fi pop band Girlpool played Toronto's Rebel, warming things up for a sold out crowd there to see King Princess. My photos of their set are here.
Girlpool got a really good crowd response to their dense but dynamically varied tunes. They kept things interesting by switching up guitar and vocal duties through the set.
Buckinghamshire, UK's Amber Bain is The Japanese House. I got to catch their show at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre. Our Girl opened things up with their first Canadian show and you can see photos of their set here.
The Japanese House are touring on their latest release, Good at Falling. Their music is at once chill and enrapturing, layered in sound and emotion. The crowd sang along with much of their set of deeply personal and introspective tunes. I loved being surrounded by the swirling vocals, melodies and chords.
Check out The Japanese House' music and check them out live. I've embedded a few tunes from their setlist below.
