New York duo Overcoats and their band played Toronto's Danforth Music Hall, opening up for Two Door Cinema Club. Check out those photos right here. I'd actually seen Overcoats perform in Toronto before, when they appeared at Field Trip in 2017. Those photos are here.
Overcoats perform deeply personal and intimate-sounding tunes that feature soaring vocals and tender melodies with wonderful harmonies, sprinkled liberally with infectious beats, cool grooves and addictive hooks.
For just a hair shy of $100, punk and ska fans, and even ska-punk fans, got an amazing night out with a fantastic lineup at Rebel in Toronto. Rancid headlined the night along with Pennywise, The English Beat and Angel Du$t filling out the stacked bill.
If you're not already familiar, Rancid are venerable punks/ska-punks from Berkeley California. Their tunes are well known for their relentless energy and attitude and for creating mosh pits that love to dance.
This was my first time seeing the band and for a long-time fan, it was just amazing. The band is in amazing form, doling out their tried-and-true tunes along with new ones with such power and finesse.
"Roots Radicals" was a perfect start, and one of my favourite tunes. It had me singing along and dancing in the photo pit. "Journey to the End of the East Bay" is a strong favourite and a rousing tune. "Where I'm Going" from Trouble Maker is an awesome newer song. They got an amazing singalong going for "Olympia, WA". "Fall Back Down" meant a strong end to the main set. They saved the most popular to the end of the encore when we finally got to hear "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho". Wow. What an impressive band with such a powerful catalog and crazy loyal and enthusiastic fans.
Getting things amped higher and higher and higher in the time leading up to Rancid's set were a trio of amazing acts. Check out my coverage of Pennywise, The English Beat and Angel Du$t by following those links.
Here are some of my all-time favourite Rancid tunes, from their setlist:
Pennywise is a legendary punk band and this was my first time experiencing them live.
Pennywise have got a crazy energy that spills over from the stage, and cycles back and forth between the audience and the band. I think it was almost as fun watching the crowd as watching the band because of the energy that the crowd puts into physically losing their minds to the music.
I'm admittedly new to the band but loved the powerful set of Pennywise tunes. Justin Sane from Anti-Flag joined the band on stage to sing "Minor Threat" by Minor Threat. Pennywise covered Bad Religion's "Do What You Want", too. They ended it all off with "Bro Hymn". Cool.
And Pennywise was not the only killer band I saw on this night. Check out my coverage of Rancid, The English Beat and Angel Du$t by following those links.
The English Beat are ska legends and a band that I have loved forever. This was my first time seeing them live and I love the fact that I got to photograph them, too.
They opened with "Mirror in the Bathroom", told us about how they started 40 years ago fighting Nazis (and sadly it feels like we're still doing that), told us about how "topping ourselves seemed like a viable alternative. Glad I chickened out because I wouldn’t be here for this night with you. 10 Guinness and write this one. Click bloody Click.", and closed out with two of my all-time favourites, "Save it for Later" and "Twist and Crawl".
This was an incredible night of powerful music from such great bands. Check out my coverage of Rancid, Pennywise and Angel Du$t by following those links.
And here's some amazing English Beat tunes to enjoy while checking out the photos and remembering a great, great night.
Baltimore punk band Angel Du$t was the first band to hit the stage at Rebel for an awesome night of high energy music. The band had crossed my radar through a recommendation from another band on Instagram. I instantly liked their high energy and hook-filled tunes (check out "On My Way" below to start) and had been keeping a lookout for a Toronto show.
They doled out lots of raw energy and attitude in their opening set. It was as good as I'd expected and I can't wait to see them again.
This was a fantastic night of amazing music from amazing bands. Check out my coverage of Rancid, Pennywise and The English Beat, too.
