Barns Courtney at The Danforth Music Hall - Concert Photos

English singer-songwriter Barns Courtney appeared with his band at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall opening for The Wombats. He's a powerhouse performer with tons of energy and solid tunes. He's got stage presence for days and isn't shy about getting right down in with the audience and even crowdsurfing as in the first photo above.

I'd see Barns Courtney performa again any time and so should you. Check out some of his tunes below.

Check out my photos of The Wombats' set here.

"99"

"Glitter and Gold"

"Kicks"

"Fire"

Yungblud at The Rivoli - Concert Photos

UK native Yungblud is a crazy ball of unstoppable energy. I saw that when I first captured one of his performances at NXNE in the summer. I wanted to experience it again so I stepped into the jam-packed Rivoli for his show there.

I somehow thought that a broken leg might slow him down and that a wheelchair on stage would indicate a more sedate physical performance. Well, nope, it was not to be. Yungblud got the crowd bouncing from the moment he hit the stage and that broken leg didn’t slow him down one bit. Not that the energy from the crowd could possibly have let him slow down or stop, even if he wanted to.

From the opening chords of "21st Century Liability" to the final ending of "Die for the Hype", Yungblud had the crowd going crazy. He talked a little about the themes in his music, noting "Polygraph Eyes" in particular is very close to his heart. It describes an issue that has to be stamped out. Let’s do it. I agree 1000%.

Before ending his set, he proclaimed that he would normally walk offstage dramatically but he can’t fucking walk so do you want one more? Of course, we got one more. What a great show!

I caught Yungblud's live set for the first time at NXNE back in the summer. Check out my photos from that show here.

Arrested Youth got the crowd going nuts before Yungblud took things even higher. My shots of their set are here.

And listen to some powerful Yungblud tracks.

"I Love You, Will You Marry Me"

"Psychotic Kids"

"Polygraph Eyes"

"Medication"

"Kill Somebody"

"California"

"Tin Pan Boy"

Arrested Youth at The Rivoli - Concert Photos

Louisville, Kentucky hip-hop inflected rock band Arrested Youth was up first on the Rivoli stage opening for Yungblud. They faced a packed, enthusiastic audience, some of whom were waiting outside on Queen Street West since dawn to see the show. It's a tough job for an opening act, standing between the audience and the headliners, but Arrested Youth put their crazy high energy to work and got the crowd going nuts.

They had a ton of fun, with the drummer and guitarist switching instruments part way through the show, then back again. I think I heard some of Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock" in their set along with Blur's "Song 2". They played "My Friends Are Robots" off their debut album about life in corporate America. All three band members left corporate jobs to do music. I think they made the right choice.

Their new album Fear had just come out about three weeks before the gig, and they did a great job getting everyone into it.

My photos of Yungblud's headlining set are here.

Check out some of Arrested Youth's music:

"Mirrors"

"My Friends Are Robots"

"Vans"

Calpurnia at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

I think that people have a very narrow definition of what a person can do; especially a famous person. If you’re an actor, you act, if you’re a musician, you play music. Musicians turned actors and actors turned musicians have always faced an uphill battle for public acceptance. Even the term “turned” implies that you’re one and you become the other. I’m a guitarist and photographer, among other things. Conflict? No. We can all be many things, and be many things well. So we definitely shouldn’t feel a conflict when we look at Finn Wolfhard, actor famous for roles in Stranger Things and IT, among others, out on stage leading his indie band Calpurnia through a solid set of original tunes and excellently chosen cover tunes.

I’ve seen the band live three times now and I think they’re great. Malcolm Craig and Jack Anderson form a solid rhythm section (when Jack’s not wielding the sticks during “Louie” or layering in some keys), and Ayla Tesler-Mabe is a fantastic guitarist and singer. I personally can’t wait until her funk-fusion band Ludic come to play Toronto. I’d love to see that show. And of course Finn does an energetic job as guitarist and singer, leading the band into fun, insanity and unhinged, head shagging, rocking out.

Most recently, I caught Vancouver's Calpurnia playing to a packed all-ages audience at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre. Their set included some new tunes around the halfway point, one with a particularly wicked guitar solo from Ayla that I can't wait to hear again.

Label-mates Little Junior opened the show. Check out those photos and their music here.

And if you haven't already, check out all my photos from Calpurnia's set at Royal Mountain Records Festival. They're here. And a post with all the Royal Mountain Records Festival coverage is here.

Take a listen to some tunes, and grab a ticket to a fun, indie rock show.

"Wasting Time", "Greyhound", "Blame", and "City Boy" on KEXP

"Louie"

Little Junior at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

Little Junior is a great band. They’ve got their power pop game down, with a bit of a snotty attitude and down to earth nature that somehow doesn’t conflict. They’re a solid band with great songs that’s building their audience with every gig.

Little Junior played a tight set for an obviously growing fan base at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre, warming up the already excited crowd for Calpurnia. Click through to the pics of Calpurnia here. I like Little Junior more and more each time I see them. Their catchy and relatable power pop tunes come across so well live, and their album Hi is a great addition to my music library.

I’ve seen them at Royal Mountain Records fest, Hillside and Lee’s Palace before this gig. If you haven’t, you should definitely check out those pics, and if you haven't seen Little Junior live, go see them.

Check out some of their music:

"Denial", "Crooked Tooth", "Pump", "Buzz Off", "Prime", and "Cry Baby"

"Accolades"