About: Leigh Bursey

Seldom in my time as a reviewer have I come into such a diverse room for a concert. Varying ages and cultural demographics, all discovering their inner Latin vibes in one setting is kind of a cool experience.

I walked into the TD Place with hesitation.

The weather was peculiar and I wondered if this trip to Ottawa would be worth my time and attention. I’ve seen both main acts on this bill multiple times and neither act was screaming at me as tremendously relevant right now.

It was a packed house on Friday night at Ottawa’s Bronson Centre, and as the snow fell, a fire burning inside the performance hall.

Growing up, the Barenaked Ladies were sort of a staple for Canadian rock radio. Their songs were hook driven, contagious and just peculiar enough that you couldn’t avoid them. And for someone like me that was both a good and bad thing.

Now I have to admit, while I like the Arkells, I never jumped on the buzz-worthy bandwagon that a lot of my peers seem to have. Arkells are solid. They bring energy to every show. They even get political sometimes, and their “Ode to the Whistleblower” is a pretty powerful tune. And much like Glorious Sons (who are coming to the K-Rock Centre in February 2018), the commercial radio/university campus buzz/Canadian indie support for them is not only noticeable but frankly hard to miss.

Celebrating the release of their fourth full length record “The Wild,” Toronto area folk rock alternative band Rural Alberta Advantage (The RAA) returned to Ottawa for the first time since their much celebrated Dragon Boat Festival performance over two years ago.

Death From Above 1979 is easily one of the more unique mainstream acts of the modern Canadian music era. The bass and drums combo make a lot of noise which sounds deceptively full. A distinct vocal frequency coupled with a dastardly heavy bass and synth attack are par for the course at any DFA show and a recent show at the Bronson Centre was no exception.

Few words can truly encapsulate the spectacle that Roger Waters brought to the Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night, but I shall attempt to put my best foot forward just the same.

Meeting the Pixies is not something I ever expected would happen to me. Meeting them and entertaining full conversations with them was something I could not fathom. Legends in their own footprints, the art rock noise band brought a familiar set of material to the stage on last week in Montreal at MTELUS.