The Coronas and Róisín O Bring Something Irish to Toronto

Irish indie rock came to The Great Hall Friday, as The Coronas and Róisín O played to a friendly crowd.

Róisín O demonstrated a great vocal range, and opened by singing intense songs about love and heartbreak. Playing on guitar or piano, with the occasional foot stomp, she had several songs in a row about her ex and her current lover (she got engaged last week!).

She explained the songs in a way that made them feel part of a single story—well, her story. “Are you ready for deep and honest conversation with an Irish girl you don’t know?” She asked near the start, to laughs and cheers. Her cover of “Dreams” by The Cranberries went over particularly well with the crowd.

The Coronas opened with “True Love Waits”, demonstrating their knack for conveying warmth. Major chords were everywhere, with sparkly guitar work reminiscent of early Bloc Party. The song followed the pattern of relatively quiet choruses followed by more intense ones toward the end, lending the piece a sense of surprise.

“Just Like That” started with guitarwork that sounded a bit like Incubus’s “Anna Molly”. It was the first of many tracks to get the crowd involved, as hundreds of people in the crowd sung back the chorus. In an example of the band’s heartfelt lyrics, lead singer Danny O’Reilly pointed the mic back as the people sang “I’m not saying I want you back, not unless you say it first / ‘Cause I’ve said things just like that only to end up getting hurt”. The band demonstrated its popularity in this way (their last three albums have gone to #1 in Ireland), as these hundreds of people in the crowd clearly knew the words to a quarter of the setlist. The lead guitarwork, here and elsewhere in the show, was impressive, making use of echo effects, palm muting, and complex solos.

Róisín O joined the band on keyboard and vocals for the whole show. O’Reilly thanked her for “double jobbing” and said they were lucky to have her. She took the lead on singing some of the songs, harmonizing and going back-and-forth nicely with O’Reilly.

The band occasionally demonstrated a certain dynamic flexibility. Cian MacSweeney from True Tides joined them for vocals and saxophone work, which he played well during solos and was a nice touch. “Closer to You” had a swing to it that distinguished it nicely from their other songs. It felt like this popular band that had been running for a decade was open to collaboration, and still have plenty of room to grow and change. When O’Reilly called the band a “supergroup”, I thought he was jokingly talking up his bandmates, but the more I think about it, the collaborations with MacSweeney and Róisín O definitely had some of that supergroup feel.

The band’s warmth extended to personality, as O’Reilly demonstrated a personal friendliness that felt genuine. “Strive” saw the crowd dancing, an increasingly uncommon and welcome sight at rock concerts, as O’Reilly walked through the crowd and interacted with the audience in a friendly way. He did this again later on, singing backstage for half a verse until he emerged on the balcony, working his way through the crowd to sing down at (and with) the audience below.

Towards the end of the show, he asked everyone in the crowd to hug the person next to them, and give them a compliment. It was a touching detail that made the crowd, and the band, feel more like a community. (The two girls from the crowd who came onstage during the last song were presumably less welcome, but the band handled them warmly too, singing the final chorus together with an energetic crowd one last time.)

As the room lit up for the audience’s favourite songs, like the aforementioned closer “San Diego”, it was nice to see a culture that values warmth, both personally and musically. Too much music makes a point of being dark or sophisticated, and forgets to give the audience a good time first. A music performance should be fun and inviting. The Coronas clearly know that.

Find out about the band’s future tour dates and tickets here.

Written by Aaron Nava