Walk Off The Earth Rocked the NAC Family Style Saturday Night In Ottawa

It appeared to be a family night out in Ottawa Saturday (May 4th) as an all ages crowd including many kids descended upon Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre to see Walk Off the Earth and opener MICO.

Filipino-Canadian artist (Toronto born) MICO was unknown to many of the crowd but the full house was excited to see him perform and he likely gained many new fans. Although it was just him and a bassist (Jason Khater) and drummer (Matt Oliver) on stage, MICO has great stage presence and a big sound.  The shaggy haired artist has a casual style, he was dressed in an open black cardigan featuring the skeleton of a rib cage with a flesh coloured T-shirt and dark pants. His laid back vibes extended to his rapport with the crowd and he was refreshingly honest and humble, admitting he was aware most of the crowd wouldn’t know who he was or when he’d forgotten lyrics or didn’t have anything to say about a song.

Of course MICO played some of his top songs including ‘Cut My Hair,’ ‘Better’ and ‘Another Soul’ but he also played his new single (out in April 2024) ‘Deserve This’ and sang a cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Obsessed.’He wrapped up his set with his earliest single ‘Lie, Lie, Lie.’

Walk Off The Earth (WOTE) appeared on stage in white boiler suits and performed a drum routine before kicking off their set with their megahit ‘Red Hands,’ newer single ‘Fire In My Soul,’ and a cover of Gnarls Barkley ‘Crazy.’

It should have been no surprise that there were many families in attendance as anyone who follows WOTE on social media knows that the band has become a family affair of sorts. The three sons of married WOTE members Sarah Blackwood and Gianni “Luminati” Nicassio have formed their own band Luminati Suns and they joined their parents and the rest of WOTE on stage to perform their kids version of the 2023 WOTE single co-written by 6 year old Romeo ‘Whatever’ and 2024 single ‘Catching Feelings.’ The band would also share that Drummer Joel Cassady is a new father adding even more to the family feeling of the night.

They also played some of their more mellow hits including ‘I’ll Be There,’ ‘Long Way Home’ their collaboration with Lindsay Stirling, ‘Hold On’ and also treating the audience to first ever in Canada performance of their newest song, the beautiful ‘On The Road’ for which they requested the crowd turn on their phone lights.

From brand new to when the band was brand new they also played one of the first songs they wrote ‘Summer Vibe’ because they said they found crowds were disappointed they’d stopped playing it and so it has made a triumphant return to the set list and this was the first time they had performed it in 8 years. In a similar vein they played ‘Rule the World’ because a fan had approached them on Parliament Hill earlier in their visit to Ottawa and requested the tune and they dedicated the song to everyone who has ever approached them to ask for a song.

The band clearly really appreciates their fans and they spoke the importance of their fans for giving them the opportunity to still be on stage 12 years after their big moment as a band, their evolution as a band and the numbers of new fans it has brought about and also mentioning the amazing fans they met during the earlier VIP session. Percussionist David “Tokyo” Speirs was particularly thrilled to see a large cheering section with signs bearing his name and Sarah even gifted an audience member a ukulele; they were chosen for having sung and danced along enthusiastically all night long.

Known for playing interesting and unique instruments WOTE did not disappoint. Luminati jammed out on the saxo-didge (a saxophone/didgeridoo combo) and then they pulled out the guitharpulele (a harp/guitar/ukulele/washboard/kalimba combo,) the custom instrument built for them by Blueberry Guitars out of Montreal, on which they performed together the beginning of ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ before moving into a medley of covers including ‘Alone” by Heart, Lil Nas X’s ‘Thats What I Want,’ Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head,’ Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ and Toto’s ‘Africa.’

This would not be the only medley of the night as one of the highlights of the evening was their lengthy medley of Beatles songs which included ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Yesterday,’ ‘ Penny Lane,’ ‘With a Little Help From My Friends,’ ‘All You Need Is Love,’ ‘Blackbird,’ ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ ‘Come Together, ‘’Let It Be’ and many more Beatles hits ending with a lengthy ‘Hey Jude’ sing along.

While the audience cheered and waited for the band hoping they would return for an encore, there were noticeable storm sound effects which were explained when they returned and thrilled the audience with covers of AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ and Illuminati Suns joined them once again for Imagine Dragons’ ‘Thunder.’ They closed the family night with their hit ‘My Stupid Heart’ and then ended the evening as it began with a drum routine.

More photos from the show . . .