Frank Turner's Lost Evenings VII at The Theatre at The Great Canadian Resort Casino - A Compendium of Posts - Concert Photos

I had just returned from a very, very special long weekend when I enthusiastically started editing and writing my photos and thoughts from this amazing festival weekend. Then I got sick, which put a stop to all that creativity and delayed these posts. Better late than never, am I right? 

I would call myself a Frank Turner fan. I love his music, I've been to a handful of shows, and I've covered them with photos and a few thoughts on my site here. 

When I requested to cover Frank Turner's Lost Evenings VII, I had no idea what a special event it was.

It was four days at Toronto's Great Canadian Casino Resort, with four headlining Frank Turner shows, each with it's own theme, opening acts and a second stage with its own lineup. There were panel discussions during the day on a variety of topics including a talk between Frank and Henry Rollins, an AMA with Frank, and sessions on the Canadian Music Scene, Women in Music and Media, the Economics of Being an Independent Artist, and How Lost Evenings Comes Together. They also had the Cowboy Chords open-mic stage and Needles Flickering pop-up tattoo event by the So Far So Good Tattoo Studio. And all this including fund raising opportunities for some very special charities and social services.

And then there was the whole mood and vibe of the event. Frank Turner fans are a dedicated bunch, and friendly, community-minded people with good hearts and open souls. It was uplifting to be in the company of this community for the weekend.

Links to my pics of each artist that I witnessed at the event are below. Hope you enjoy the pics and that they either bring back great memories of the event, or that they give you a feel for what it was like to witness these shows. As for me, I'm thinking very hard about heading to next year's Lost Evenings in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Night 1: September 19

Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls

Henry Rollins

Martha Wainwright

Chuck Coles

The Sleeping Souls

Delyn Grey

Night 2: September 20

Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls

NOBRO

Northcote

The Honest Heart Collective

The Wilderness

Redfox

Night 3: September 21

Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls

The Dirty Nil

The OBGMs

Thunder Queens

Guilhem

Night 4: September 22

Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls

Bedouin Soundclash

Murder by Death

The Shackletons

Hannah Rose Platt

Tom Jenkins

The OBGMs at Lost Evenings VII - Concert Photos

The OBGMs were the first band on the main stage on day three of Frank Turner's Lost Evenings VII in Toronto.

Their set was fucking crazy. They got the crowd amped and moshing, taking advantage of every minute of their allotted set time to dole out their particular brand of musical insanity. 

I first witnessed an OBGMs show back in 2013 at Indie Week. If they were a baby band when I saw them, then I was a baby photographer then. We’ve both come a long way since then. Take a look at those photos if you don't believe me.

All of my Lost Evenings VII coverage is consolidated into one post that you can find here, containing links to my coverage of each artist I photographed at the festival.

"Fight Song"

Riot Fest announces Toronto 2015 line-up

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.

I had a fantastic time at Riot Fest 2014. Click this link for all my posts and pics. I'm sure it will be just as fun this year.

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.

Against Me!, who I saw opening for The Gaslight Anthem. These guys are a killer live band!

Echo & the Bunnymen

Alexisonfire, who were already announced back in March.

Andrew W.K.

D.O.A.

Die Mannequin. I really, really want to see this band live.

OBGMs

Dead Milkmen

All Time Low

Coheed & Cambria

Eagles of Death Metal

The oOohh Baby Gimme Mores a.k.a. The OBGMs

The oOohh Baby Gimme Mores, a.k.a. The OBGMs, are serious. Serious about fun. They brought lots of fans to their October 18 show at Cherry Cola's, some of whom were amped up to dangerous levels. And then they progressed to the finals on October 20 at Tattoo Rock Parlour.

And the OBGMs do not disappoint. They fulfil their promise of loud aggression and fun. Almost every song makes full use of the glow sticks and light-up rings tossed into the crowd, along with audience participation designed to get us all moving and the mosh pit churning.

Check out some great tunes, starting with the uber-cool video for "Beat Up Kidz".

and their full album Interchorus.


Grab some tunes at their Bandcamp.