July Talk at Budweiser Gardens - Concert Photos

Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis are two of the most dynamic and magnetic front people to have ever taken to the stage. Along with bandmates Ian Docherty on guitar, bassist Josh Warburton, and drummer Danny Miles, and joined on this night by Dani Nash on keys and percussion, they are July Talk: one of the best bands Canada has ever produced, role models and champions for positivity, inclusion and empowerment, Juno award winners, creators of incredible and uplifting music, and a live performance powerhouse.

On this night, they appeared on the Budweiser Gardens stage in London, Ontario and were sandwiched between headliners Metric and Murray A. Lightburn. Please click through on those links to check out my photos of those performances.

July Talk had a hell of a climb by the time I saw them for the first time at Lee’s Palace in 2014. (Apologies for not getting the black and white thing for a while.) They’ve continued to ascend since then and keep impressing as people, as performers and as creatives.

Their set started off strong with "Headsick", "Guns + Ammunition" and "Now I Know" before switching to a bunch of new music. "Pay for It" is a beautiful new song about toxic masculinity, "Still Sacred Can Fall" has a moody depth, "The News" is an upbeat rocker, and "Pretender" is dark and intense with a powerful beat.

They dedicated "The Garden" to local venue Call the Office. "Touch" was accentuated with blood red lights and reaching hands for a backdrop.

The magnetic interplay between Leah and Peter came out especially strongly during "Beck + Call".

I didn’t want it to end, but like all good things, it had to. Before any of us were ready, they finished out their set with "Push + Pull".

While Lee's Palace in 2014 was decked out in black and white stripes with two stage extensions, the 2019 July Talk stage had a moon backdrop that projected video of the band. They also brought a giant moon balloon that came down during the show. They said it was because the full moon makes everyone a bit weird and they bring the full moon with them everywhere.

If you want to check out a few of my recent photo sets on July Talk, please click through for my photos of them at last summer's Riverfest Elora and their amazingly intense Horseshoe Tavern show during CMW 2018.

Here are a few of my favourites from the band's set:

"Guns + Ammunition"

"Summer Dress"

"The Garden"

"Beck + Call" and "Push + Pull"

"Lola + Joseph"

"Picturing Love"

Murray A. Lightburn at Budweiser Gardens - Concert Photos

Murray A. Lightburn, perhaps best known as the singer of The Dears, was the first to take to the Budweiser Gardens stage for a night of incredible Canadian music in London, Ontario. Please click through and check out my photos of Metric and July Talk from this night, too.

Lightburn took to the stage armed with only his guitar, his voice and his songs. It’s a challenge to play solo at any time, but I feel especially so as the first act on a Sunday night before such powerhouse bands as July Talk and Metric.

Murray availed himself well and I know he won over some new fans with his emotional, passionate and delicate songs.

Check out some of his music from this night's setlist.

"Centre of My Universe"

"When They See Me"

Single Mothers at Jasper Dandy - Concert Photos

Jasper Dandy recently opened as a new live music venue. They put on a series of shows as their grand opening and I got to attend two out of three of them.

London, Ontario based punk band Single Mothers headlined this show with Bad Waitress and Dear-God. Please click on the links to check out my coverage of Bad Waitress and Dear-God.

Single Mothers continued the theme of the night, which was "intensity". They amped it up even further and got the crowd in front of the stage going nuts. Singer Drew Thomson bounces around the stage with abundant energy while the band lays down a wall of sound with enough dynamic shifts to keep up the flow. Single Mothers are achieving legend status and with good reason.

I caught Drew's other project, The Drew Thomson Foundation, when they opened for Bob Mould at The Phoenix Concert Theatre. Those photos are here.

You can also check out my photos of Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs and Wine Lips from the first night of the Jasper Dandy grand opening series.

Check out some of Single Mothers' music:

"Undercover", "Half-Lit", "Baby", "Ketamine", "Marbles" and "Leash"

"Patricide / Feel Shame"

"Dog Parks" and "Switch Off"

Bad Waitress at Jasper Dandy - Concert Photos

Jasper Dandy recently opened as a new live music venue. They put on a series of shows as their grand opening and I got to attend two out of three of them.

Toronto punk band Bad Waitress were up on stage sandwiched between headliners Single Mothers and openers Dear-God. Click on those links to check out my coverage of those two bands.

Bad Waitress are intense and powerful with great energy. They put on a great show and I love their attitude. I definitely recommend checking them out and would see them again in a heartbeat.

You can also check out my photos of Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs and Wine Lips from the first night of the Jasper Dandy grand opening series.

Give them a listen:

"What do I Want"

"That Sedative"

"Rabbit Hole"

"NDFE" and "Acid Brain"

"Too Many Bad Habits ( to be this broke )"

Dear-God at Jasper Dandy - Concert Photos

Jasper Dandy recently opened as a new live music venue. They put on a series of shows as their grand opening and I got to attend two out of three of them.

Dear-God was first up on stage on the final night of the grand opening series. These self-proclaimed "kids from Brampton" impressed with their raw attitude and energy. Check out some tunes below and be on the lookout for more gigs. I'm confident we'll see a lot more from this band.

While you're here, check out my photos from Single Mothers and Bad Waitress, who played on this same night, and my photos of Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs and Wine Lips from the first night of the Jasper Dandy grand opening series.

Here's a video of a couple of Dear-God songs from this very gig.

"White Sheets"