You might think that by running a blog and seeing tons of shows, I'd have my ear to the ground about the special, secret happenings in Toronto's music scene. Sometimes it's true, but often, it's not. On this particular night, I was heading out to see a show by Chastity, Greys and Casper Skulls at The Recroom (click for those photos). I'd seen Casper Skulls many times and love their music. I'd heard of Chastity and Greys for a long time but hadn't caught a live performance. Little did I know that Alexisonfire were going to show up as surprise guests to close out the night.
This just happened to be my first time experiencing the live power of an Alexisonfire performance. It may have only been three songs, but it packed more energy and intensity into those three songs than many bands do into entire shows. The crowd also went insane and put out at least as much energy as Alexisonfire gave off. It was amazing to witness. Chastity's singer Brandon Williams joined the band on stage, too.
Alexisonfire had just been to the House of Strombo to record a live performance. Hope to see that published soon.
After much Twitter banter, Riot Fest has revealed it's Toronto line-up for 2015 and early bird tickets for $99.98, which sold out within an hour.
Here are tunes from the bands that I would most like to see. Of course, one of the best things about all these festivals, is discovering new artists and bands, so my hope is to post a number of feature posts on specific bands over the coming months. And the fine folks at Riot Fest will be announcing more bands June 16.
Sadly, one of the biggest issues for Toronto music fans is the fact that The Toronto Urban Roots Festival, or TURF, is the same weekend, and their line-up is pretty stacked and getting more so with each announcement.
On to the music:
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, who I saw live at TURF 2013, and had to miss at The Horseshoe this past March due to illness. An amazing live band, for sure.
The Joy Formidable. One of my all-time favourite bands, who is way overdue for a Toronto show!
Rancid, who will perform …And Out Come the Wolves in its entirety
Motörhead. This could be the last time to see Lemmy live on stage.
Alexisonfire is reuniting for seven festival shows this summer, including Reading, Leeds and Riot Fest Toronto on September 19-20. These dates mark the first time the band has performed together since briefly reuniting in 2012 for a worldwide 10th anniversary tour.
To celebrate their appearance at Toronto Riot Fest, a limited number of specially priced general admission weekend passes will be released on Friday, March 13, 2015 at 10 AM for only $69.50 (plus applicable service charges) via RiotFest.org and Ticketfly.com.
The rest of the Riot Fest line-up will be announced later in the spring. Complaints to their Twitter.
Listen to some tunes to remind yourself of the awesome power of Alexisonfire.
