Category Archives: Rock, Alternative & Punk

Rob Zombie / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Rob Zombies “Freaks On Parade” Tour touched down in Toronto on Wednesday September 6th at Budweiser Stage. It was full of Zombie freaks and fanatics who mostly all could have passed as performers as the walking dead had all made their way to see the show.

Rob Zombie / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

It appeared that Rob was the general and the crowd was his army of the dead for the evening, a dedicated fanbase to say the least. Starting off with theatrics across the stage Zombie and his band captured the army at first glance, setting the tone right off the top with “The Triumph Of King Freak, Dead City Radio and the Gods of Supertown and Feel So Numb”.

Rob Zombie / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

A very interesting stage to boot with the band as it moved with the artists on deck. A lot of work and preparation went into their stage attire as you could see, so one could only image how the performance went, amazing if you were wondering. Catch this tour as there are many dates left at LiveNation.

Alice Cooper / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

The world famous entertainer Alice Cooper and his band on their 59th year touring the sun seemed to have a party on stage as they took the stage right before Rob. The class act entertainer doesn’t seem to be slowing down with a tone of shows and tours already under his belt this year alone after just spending some time on tour with Motley Crue and Def Leppard, if there’s a stage a crowd, Alice will entertain.

Alice Cooper / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Alice Cooper / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Starting off the show with hits like No More Mr Nice Guy, I’m Eighteen, Under My Wheels and Billion Dollar Baby, safe to say it was a night of hits. You can’t forget songs like Feed My Frankenstein, Poison and Schools out which of course made the setlist.

Alice Cooper / Photographer Elliott Deseure / Budweiser Stage

Cooper of course known for his theatrics on stage from being tied up in a straitjacket to having Frankenstein join him on stage, all 15 feet of him tall. And yes even being dragged to the guillotine and having his head… All makes for a fun night to get away in the city with friends or family for an amazing night out, always 10/10!

Alice Cooper / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Alice Cooper / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Richard Patrick Filter / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Starting off the evening was a band from Cleveland Ohio that goes by Filter with Richard Patrick leading the charge. You know the band that has that famous hit “Take A Picture” that makes it’s way into everyone’s playlist.

Al Jourgensen Ministry / photographer Elliott Deseure / Budweiser Stage

Jonathan Radtke Filter / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

They were very entertaining as the crowd started to grow and the band fed off of it as you could hear the Amphitheatre get louder and louder.

Filter / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Al Jourgensen Ministry / photographer Elliott Deseure / Budweiser Stage

Second off the bill was Ministry, and the crowd roared. The pace for the night had increased and sooner than you knew it you were in hyperdrive. It was a different kind of fan expirience for some of the Alice patrons but everyone was head banging before you knew it.

Ministry / photographer Elliott Deseure / Budweiser Stage

Heavy metal was alive and well, and the odd fan got lucky with a drum stick thrown their way or guitar pick from one of the madmen on stage. Touring since the 80’s, Ministry know how to entertain their fans as they originate from the hard working class of Chicago. You should definitely catch this tour if it stops on your city, 4 top notch acts for the price of one, who could beat that?

Geno Lenardo Ministry / Budweiser Stage / Photographer Elliott Deseure

Rod Stewart brought ALL the HITS and then some back this past Saturday night in Niagara Ontario, Canada for his final leg of his North American Tour. And then some? Well, Sir Rod always has time to play some classics that he himself if a fan of outside of his own very large catalogue of music. Even opening up the show with Robert Palmers hit “Addicted To Love”, which he and his amazing band always nail, there’s something super cool about the fact that even with his ginormous success, the night isn’t all about him, it’s about the music.

After two shows with smaller turnouts (Rod Stewart and Alabama) The Smashing Pumpkins and special guests the Rival Sons and Interpol pack Canadian Tire Centre for a night of unapologetic hard rock.

Music and media go hand in hand. The talented ones make and perform the music while us media folks cover the music and use photos taken by our photographers and videographers to showcase it…well earlier this summer one of Ottawa’s favourite photographers, Sean Sisk, suddenly took ill right at the start of RBC Bluesfest. Since then he’s been in an Ottawa hospital ICU unable to work and unable to earn a living. Although his condition is improving daily his recovery is going to take time so it could be a while before Sean is fully recovered and able to earn a living again. Last night music and media once again joined forces at the Overflow Brewing Company, this time to shine a spotlight on one of our own and to remind us all of how fragile our lives can be.

TORONTO, ON (August 21, 2023) – This October, legendary alt-country rockers Blue Rodeo will be on tour celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the band’s massively successful fifth studio album Five Days in July.  Fans can look forward to seeing the band hit the stage in Montreal, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Moncton and Halifax and hearing songs from the six-time platinum classic record, while also enjoying some more favourites from over the years.

BIG WRECK, esteemed Canadian rockers, announce today that they will be taking their intoxicating live show back on the road this fall, headlining across Canada along with select USA dates! Kicking off their first show on November 9th in Hamilton, ON at FirstOntario Concert Hall and ending on December 22nd in Toronto, ON at History. Full list of dates are below.

The final Inductees for 2023 will be announced in the coming months, along with the Allan Slaight Music Impact, Community and National Hero Honourees

Canada’s Walk of Fame 25^th Anniversary Celebration will take place on December 2^nd in Toronto; Broadcast to air on CTV at a later date

Fans packed the Bronson Center to see Steve Vai and his incredible band perform as they brought their Inviolate tour to Ottawa.  The room was filled with t-shirts of various famous guitar players names and judging by the number of people coming up pre-show to snap a photo of the pedal boards, I’m guessing the audience was filled with guitar players of all shapes and forms and abilities.

It’s no wonder so many came out to see Vai.  He is a virtuoso guitarist, composer and producer, considered by many as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. In over 40 years in the industry, Vai has sold over 15 million records, received three Grammy Awards, and recorded with music legends like Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, WHITESNAKE and many more.

Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont

In addition to the rock genre most associate Vai with, he is also a musical composer fluent in the composition and arranging of orchestral music.  He has written scores for 80 piece orchestras and recorded and performed often with the Holland Metropole Orchestra as well as other orchestras. He has also created an online streaming website dedicated to bringing free guitar-related content to the community of guitar players around the world and created the Vai Academy where he and other world class guitarists deliver a master class in guitar techniques.  Vai has become a mentor to many guitarists delivering messages such as “Use your creativity with courage and no excuses”. His Youtube channel features “Under it All” sessions where he’ll speak about his own personal journey of enlightenment through the pursuit of truth and the use of meditation. When we look at his accomplishments and contributions in this light, it brings us beyond the simple fact of, wow, can this guy ever shred.

Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

Vai was accompanied on stage by long-time collaborators Philip Bynoe (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums) as well as a recent addition to the band Dante Frisiello (guitarist).  When Dante was in law school, his teacher and mentor was Vai’s former guitarist, Dave Weiner.  He ended up leaving law school to travel with the band as Dave Weiner’s guitar tech.  Last November when Weiner announced his retirement from Vai’s band after 23 years, he recommended Dante as replacement and Dante passed the audition with flying colors.

Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

Vai told the audience off the top that we were here to celebrate life as a family, leave the world and politics behind and just celebrate. The family theme would surface throughout the show.  Vai would take turns with each of the band members in a “call and response” pattern where he would call out with a screaming guitar riff and the band member would answer back whether it be on drums, bass or guitar.  This was reminiscent of Steve’s famous appearance as the devil’s guitarist in the famous guitar duel scene in the 1986 movie Crossroads.  He even had some fun with the audience as he made various sounds on his guitar for the audience to imitate.  The backstage crew came front and center as three of the guitar techs were invited on stage to play some guitar harmony for the intro to the song Incantation. For the last song of the night, Vai brought Danny G, one of the techs on stage to sing some operatic vocals.

Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

The passion and energy in his music was evident in his facial expressions which would morph with each bend of the strings.  You see this often with guitar players in their performance as they are experiencing the intensity of the moment.  However, sometimes with Vai you could see his expression would be softer, questioning even reflective as he would change the sound on his guitar and look out to the audience as if he was asking, “what do you think about this, or perhaps this sound, how about this one?”  Sometimes he would move his finger up or down indicating to the audience where the next note was going to be.

Steve Via performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

The Inviolate album was released in January 2022 and the tour is bringing Vai and his band in a fast-paced tour to all corners of the world.  Early in the show Vai spoke of the tour and said he told his agent to “get me into Canada and keep me there!” and later he would remark to the audience that Canadians are the nicest people. The album itself is his 10th solo album and it’s one that he wanted to continue to push his boundaries on.  For example, the song “Candle Power” has a clean guitar sound, no whammy bar and uses a finger picking style.  Vai says “I’m not a good fingerpicker, but I wanted to challenge myself.”  The song Greenish Blues originated at a soundcheck and was later built out in the studio.  He told the audience, “it’s kinda like blues, but it’s me, so it’s greenish blues.” This is Steve Vai wanting to continually grow but only in a way that is true to himself.

Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

One of the most anticipated songs of the evening was “Teeth of the Hydra” from the Inviolate album. This song features Vai playing a triple neck guitar which includes a bass, seven-string and 12-string guitar as well as a 13 string harp.  The guitar was Vai’’s vision and was built by the guitar manufacturer Ibanez.   It’s every guitar geek’s dream with innumerable features including a glowing “seducer” control, a “dragonizer” switch, and a set of tubes Ibanez and Vai have labeled as the “climax regulator.”

Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmmont.

The audience brought the band back for an encore with an enthusiastic standing ovation and they performed “Fire Garden Suite IV” from his 1996 album. At the end of the show, the band took a bow and instead of rushing off the stage, Vai grabbed the mic and thanked the audience and the venue, wished everyone a good evening and said “See you next time”.  If the response from the audience was any indication, yes you will Steve, yes you will!

Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

Steve Vai and the band are continuing west across Canada on their Inviolate tour.  For tour dates check Steve Vai’s official website www.vai.com.

More photos.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

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Steve Vai performs at the Bronson Center in Ottawa. Photo by Rob Clairmont.

Glam Slam Metal Tour Headliner: Enuff Z’ Nuff Guest Appearances: Bad Marriage, The Quireboys Venue: The Bowery Electric