Toronto indie disco outfit Tush were first up on stage at Lee's Palace last week for a fantastic night of moving music. Their music is powerful with heart-wrenching vocals, dance-inducing beats, amazing melodies and hooks, a magnetic performance, not to mention great songs, great moves and great vibes.
Tush was warming up the crowd for The Soul Motivators on the night of their record release celebration for Do the Damn Thing. Check out my photos and thoughts on their set here.
Check out some of their music below and don't miss their live show when they play near you. I, for one, will be anxiously waiting for the next time I can catch them live.
Gowan is a Scottish Canadian singer songwriter pianist and guitarist whose hits were ubiquitous in the 80s and 90s. He was simply Gowan, then Lawrence Gowan, then Larry Gowan. To many of us, he was always just Gowan; an incredible singer, a songwriter of danceable grooves and earworm choruses that stick in your head but somehow you never tire of them, simultaneously a writer of intricate and challenging songs that also became huge hits and, dare I say it, part of the Canadian musical culture, all while being a highly energetic and tireless live performer.
I don't think I've been to a Gowan concert since his performances at The Ontario Place Forum in the 1980s. I did catch him performing a few tunes solo at a fundraiser a few years ago. My photos of that are here. This sold-out show at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall was a fantastic opportunity for me, as well as the other 1000 plus attendees to sit back and relax while listening to a rock solid band and a classic performer play and perform an impressive catalog of tunes.
Many of the songs that were soundtracks of my high school days, as well as the years up to now, were in the set. Gowan and the band opened with one of my absolute favourites, "Cosmetics" from Gowan's giant hit second album, 1985's Strange Animal. "Awake the Giant" from their 1987 album Great Dirty World was a huge hit and one of my favourites. It was a little hard to keep focused on photography when enjoying this great tune so much.
The first set's personal highlights continued with the laid back "When There's Time (for Love)", the hard rocking "Keep up the Fight" from his 1982 debut, and closed with perhaps Gowan's biggest hit, the intensely unique and dramatic "A Criminal Mind".
Then there was intermission. You don't see a lot of shows with an artist putting in two sets with no opening act. Gowan and the band certainly could have played from 8 straight through to 11 with the amazing songs that he's released. This format gave us much longer than a typical set, while pacing things out for both band and audience.
The second set got going with "Desperate". The rest of the songs in the set are all crowdpleasers and personal favourites. "Soul's Road" the 1994 album ...but you can call me Larry, "Dancing on My Own Ground" from , "All the Lovers in the World" from the 1990 album Lost Brotherhood, "Dedication", a Styx song called "Khedive" before the drum solo. The set continued with "Keep the Tension On", "Guerilla Soldier" and closed out with another of so many huge Gowan hits, "(You're A) Strange Animal".
Of course, we had to have an encore. We weren't going to let this night end quite yet. Gowan took to the stage solo at the keyboard to perform a cover of Rush's "Limelight" for the recently departed drummer, lyricist and general Canadian music royalty, Neil Peart. "Limelight" is a personal favourite, with such deeply perceptive lyrics about the insanity of fame, and Gowan's take more than did it justice as we all sang along.
The night ended with "Moonlight Desires" and we shuffled off into the cold and snowy Canadian winter night, with so many classic songs buzzing in our ears. I think we almost floated over the slush.
Gowan's vocals were perfection, hitting every note with absolute strength and precision, and his moves were lithe and energetic The band, featuring his brother Terry on bass and Bob McAlpine, the guitarist that's been there since the beginning, played impeccably.
I'll be waiting patiently for the next time I can live through another magical musical evening with Gowan.
In the meantime, here are just a few of my favourite tunes from the night's setlist.
"Cosmetics"
"Awake The Giant"
"Keep Up The Fight"
"A Criminal Mind"
From a show I was actually at, back in the day, "Desperate".
Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo came through Toronto last week for a headlining Sunshine Kitty Tour show at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The venue moved out the seats and opened up the floor in similar fashion to The Danforth Music Hall. The theatre has got a great sloping open floor area perfect for dancing, moshing or swaying along to amazing music. Towards the back there's seating with great views over the crowd. I caught my first show at this venue for Frank Turner's acoustic concert, and I'm pleased to see how this venue will accommodate all different genres. Can't wait for more awesome shows at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Not long before the start of the show, I heard that Tove Lo would be performing seated because she'd broken her foot recently. They wheeled out a throne and we awaited the start of the show. I have to admit it was a little disappointing because Tove Lo's music is so moving and dance-oriented and her performance is so energetic; I was anticipating a more sedate mood to the show since she wouldn't be dancing around to whip the crowd into a frenzy.
I needn't have worried. Even seated, the music and the crowd came together with Tove Lo to make the night a high-energy dance party extraordinaire. Hit after hit from the new album Sunshine Kitty and all that came before came pouring off of the stage. Ms Lo did take to her feet for some solo keyboard, but found her way back to the throne. She didn't bother leaving the stage between the main set and the encore. No one minded. It was a super-fun night of music and love. One I won't soon forget.
This was my second time catching Tove Lo's live show. The first was back in 2017 when I covered Osheaga for Canadian Beats. My photos from that show are here.
Finnish singer-songwriter Alma got things warmed up on this night of infectious dance-inducing music. Check out my photos of her set here.
And take a listen to my favourite Tove Lo tunes from her set.
Finnish singer-songwriter Alma hit the stage at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre solo for an enthusiastic, energetic set of hook-filled pop tunes that goes the crowd dancing and waving their hands in the air.
She not only kept the growing crowd's attention, she kept the energy high and got everyone pumped for Tove Lo's headlining set. Head on over here to check out my photos of Tove Lo from this night of fun-filled, high-energy, dance-inducing tunes.
