Category Archives: Concert Reviews

In a time when music is so diverse and bands are making a huge comebacks and reuniting, some ladies have managed to grab a whole lot of people’s attention.

Nu-Metal band Korn and hard rock heavyweights Breaking Benjamin stormed the Shottenstein Center last night on their 2020 Winter Tour.

Friday, January 31st saw Montreal indie-rockers Half Moon Run bring their ‘A Blemish in the Great Light’ World tour to TD Place in Ottawa.  Their 19-song set was a melange of music from their previous 2 albums along with their November 2019 release. Early in the eve, Devon Protielje exclaimed “This is a good place to be Ottawa” and indeed he was right. The night ebbed and flowed as they wove through the songs that shaped their set.  From the opening crescendo builds that bind “21 Gun Salute”, to the softer silken harmonies of “Need It”, to the formidably heavier moments in “She Wants To Know”, there was a particularly pleasing oscillation in intensity. This was amplified by the talents of a string quartet accompanying them, at times ethereally emerging from the shadows of the stage.

Notably, there were some non-music moments that had uplifting qualities that made the night even more memorable. Gratitude was expressed by the band to their fans, for this was their first headline arena show, and sold out no less. Also, the band recognized their tour manager, Doug, for he happily found out that day he was going to be a Dad. Also, the sheer glee in the face of a little tyke as he rose from the stands and giggled to the audience’s applause, after being acknowledged by the band for contributing his “cooing” to the intro of “Razorblade”.

After a standing ovation for the original 3-song encore, the band returned with an acoustic  gather ‘round one mic performance of “Sun Leads Me On”. A well chosen end to an indelible evening. Last Fall, Half Moon Run was nominated for a Juno award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, an accolade last night’s performance underscored is so well deserved.

Opening the evening was Winnipeg-native Taylor Janzen. This young artist, guitar in hand, came to the stage with a story to tell and beautifully balanced voice to express it.  At 20 years old, this accomplished singer-songwriter has 2 critically acclaimed EPs under her belt, and her recent release “What I Do..” was recognized as a critical cut by SiriusXM.   Though the Ottawa show represented her last stop on this tour, after a brief sojourn Half Moon Run continues with European dates the end of February through March, before being back in Montreal for 2 sold out shows for a home-town crowd.

more photos from the show

Well, if you’re a fan of heavy, post hardcore, Canadian music, Rogers Place was the place to be last week as Alexisonfire blasted their way through songs from their archive as part of a small western Canadian tour. 

Last Friday night Brantley Gilbert brought his hard hittin’ country rock to the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa. Gilbert a Georgia native has been just killin’ it on his Fire’t Up Tour with openers Brandon Lay and Dylan Scott.

On January 24, Iowa got its long-awaited high when Royal Bliss returned to Cedar Rapids for an acoustic performance at the Chrome Horse Saloon. Despite the word ‘acoustic,’ the sold-out show, opened by special guests Flex, was far from the stereotypical “guy on a chair, strumming guitar, quietly singing sad songs” thing.

Alberta LOVES Tebey and the fans proved it.  On his first headlining tour, the Sherwood Park (Edmonton) stop became his 1st sell out show … but it didn’t stop there as the next night in Red Deer ALSO sold out!  All this at the tail end of an artic freeze that had the province virtually paralyzed with extreme cold weather warnings!

The Mango kid a.k.a. Danko Jones hit up the Brass Monkey for a long-overdue stop in Ottawa. 4 years overdue to be exact.

Canadian Music Hall of Famer Andy Kim (Singer of Rock Me Gently and writer of the Archies’ hit Sugar Sugar) put on his 15^th annual charity Christmas variety show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on December 4th in support of the CAMH’s Gifts of Light Program.

Big Wreck brought their But For The Sun tour to the packed Music Hall Concert Theatre in Oshawa.