The Pursuit of Happiness TPOH at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

You may have noticed a resurgence in posts covering The Pursuit of Happiness' live shows over the past couple of years. I chalk this trend up to two things. First, the band is playing live again after several years off, doing cool things like releasing a deluxe version of their full-length debut Love Junk. Second, I absolutely love the band's music. I've seen them so many times in the old days and I'm loving revisiting their tunes and their energetic live shows now.

This most recent show was a packed show at The Danforth Music Hall with fellow Canadian power pop legends Odds opening the show. Don't miss my shots of their set here.

TPOH ran through the entirety of Love Junk, in order, only saving "I'm An Adult Now" for the set closer. As always, the tunes sounded great, the band played excellently and we all sang along loudly. Guitarist Kris Abbott suffered a hand injury during the show but bandaged up and powered through.

We got a couple of deep cuts from the Love Junk deluxe set, and a few tunes from the rest of the TPOH catalog. For the encore, they brought out Odds and Stephen Page of Barenaked Ladies fame for a rendition of Prince's "When Doves Cry".

Awesome night. Can't wait for the next show!

In the meantime, check out my other coverage of the band at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, at East Lynn Park and at Supermarket.

Here's their setlist as I captured it:

"Hard To Laugh"
"Ten Fingers"
"She's So Young"
"Consciousness Raising As A Social Tool"
"Walking in the Woods"
"Beautiful White"
"When the Sky Comes Falling Down"
"Looking for Girls"
"Man's Best Friend"
"Tree of Knowledge"
"Killed by Love"
"Down on Him"
"Let My People Go"
"Gretzky Rocks"
"Two Girls in One"
"I Like You"
"Kalendar"
"Cigarette Dangles"
"I'm and Adult Now"

Encore
"Downward Road"
Prince's "When Doves Cry" with Odds and Stephen Page

Here are some of my favourites from their setlist:

"Hard to Laugh"

"She's So Young"

"Consciousness Raising As A Social Tool"

"Gretzky Rocks"

"Killed by Love"

"Two Girls in One"

"Cigarette Dangles"

"I'm An Adult Now"

The Pursuit of Happiness TPOH at East Lynn Park on The Danforth - Concert Photos

As I mentioned when I saw The Pursuit of Happiness at their extra-special show for The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern's birthday in 2017, I'm a huge fan of the band from "back in the day". Click here to check out those pics, if you please.

So, as you might expect, when I saw that the band was playing a free show at East Lynn Park on The Danforth as part of the Danny Loves Music series, I had to be there. Being out in a park in the waning daylight, with the audience mostly seated on the grass or in lawn chairs, with an open-air tent-stage, it was a different vibe from what we had at the jam-packed Horseshoe, but the tunes rocked just as hard, the band sounded great, and most of us sang along just as loud.

Moe announced that a deluxe edition of the band's debut album Love Junk is coming soon to celebrate the fact that it's been 30 years since this landmark album and personal desert-island classic came out. I'm looking forward to the additional gems that will no doubt accompany this re-release, which comes out September 21.

Hope you enjoy the pics and listening to the many tunes below cribbed from their amazing setlist and look forward to seeing the band again soon, as I do.

"Hard to Laugh"

"Consciousness Raising as a Social Tool", which, if pressed, I might proclaim as my favourite TPOH tune

"When the Sky Comes Falling Down"

"Pressing Lips"

"Killed by Love"

"She's So Young"

"Gretzky Rocks"

"Two Girls in One"

"Cigarette Dangles"

"I'm An Adult Now"

The Pursuit of Happiness at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern 70th Anniversary Celebrations - Concert Pictures

Toronto live music institution and rightful holder of the “legendary” title, The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern is celebrating its 70th birthday this year and rather than slip quietly into retirement the venue has been celebrating in style with a series of shows by legendary artists new and old including Hollerado, Billy Bragg, 54-40, The Constantines, Skydiggers, Matt Mays, Rheostatics, Jim Cuddy, Julian Taylor, Lowest if the Low and many, many more including hometown legends The Pursuit of Happiness.

I’ve seen TPOH many many times over the years but never since I’ve been photographing bands or running this site. I was super excited for this night since the band is one of my favourites and has so many awesome tunes along with the bonus of celebrating the Horseshoe Tavern’s birthday.

After The James Clark Institute's opening set and TPOH's set-up, it was time to flash back to the glory days of Toronto indie power pop with a greatest hits set from the one, the only, The Pursuit of Happiness. The band sounded amazing and played with incredible energy. I loved shouting along to the tunes in unison with the band and the sold-out crowd. It was so great to hear these classic tunes blaring from The Horseshoe stage, and they even recorded the show, so hopefully we get to relive it again and again. Here's to hoping that it won't be too long before we get to experience the live magic of TPOH again.

Their setlist spanned their catalog, with emphasis on their debut, Love Junk, and second album, One Sided Story. There are too many favourites for me to summarize, so here's the setlist:

"Hard to Laugh"

"Ten Fingers"

"Man's Best Friend"

"Beautiful White"

"Walking in the Woods"

"Shave Your Legs"

"Consciousness Raising as a Social Tool"

"Food"

"I Like You"

"When the Sky Comes Falling Down"

"Pressing Lips"

"Kalendar"

"She's So Young"

"Two Girls in One"

"Looking for Girls"

"Cigarette Dangles"

"I'm An Adult Now" with a bit of The Tragically Hip's "Gift Shop" in the middle

First encore:

"Downward Road"

"Killed by Love"

Second encore:

"Down on Him"

Third encore:

"Gretzky Rocks"

"Terrified"

Listen to some fantastic tunes from The Pursuit of Happiness:

"Hard to Laugh"

"Consciousness Raising as a Social Tool", which, if pressed, I might proclaim as my favourite TPOH tune

"When the Sky Comes Falling Down"

"Pressing Lips"

"She's So Young"

"Two Girls in One"

"Cigarette Dangles"

"I'm An Adult Now"

"Killed by Love"

"Gretzky Rocks"