Lights & Owl City - Toronto Stop [ April 27th,2010 ]

Hey guys!
Long time no blog, sorry I haven't posted in a while, I got caught up with exams but now I'm free!!! So expect a lot of updating as I have taken notes after each show to help keep my train of thought haha :P


Anyways I went to see Lights & Owl City at the Sound Academy. It was my 3rd time seeing Lights and my 1st seeing Owl City. I must say, that everytime I see her I always feel as if the crowd should be so energetic, and just like everyone jumping around having a good time.. but for some reason that is never the case most of the fans just stand there and spazz at you if you get to close to them... but I guess with her being all over Much Music, and having a younger fan base plays a big role in this, as it was probably a lot of the kids first concert.


I personally, think this line up was really good. The Paper Route really got people going in the crowd, and then out came Lights who I believe compliments Owl City's music pretty good. It was nice to be at a show where the bands connected musically in a sense that they flowed well, as opposed to having really random openers along the way who didn;t really fit the bill. Lights' set was really good. After seeing her 3 times, you can see how she has changed and really gets into performing now, as the first time i saw her she seemed a little hesitant and shy about really getting into it, and to see her get so comfortable performing is pretty neat! She did something different that night though, she also did an acoustic set and played little bits of some of her older songs, which was a first for me to experience at one of her shows. It was good to see her perform again, even though her crowd wasn't super energetic it was great to be able to still see her give off that type of energy!


Up next we had Owl City! The one that most of these kids were waiting for. To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect from him, and I had only listened to one song so to me I was debating if I should stay back for his set or leave. But boy was i glad to stay! He was very entertaining, coming out on stage with a chicken sweater on, like full out chicken! the hood had a beak and the arms had feathers all over it! He played a good set, it was around 90 minutes and he stopped to talk about how he used to come to family reunions in Toronto. which i though was something nice to share with us. Adam Young sounded amazing that night, sometimes when i see bands live, their sets dissappoint because sometimes you can hear the all the mistakes, but at the sametime some can hide them very well, then again that is the beauty of seeing your favourite artists live. Owl City also had dancers on stage, and a wide variety of instruments on stage, he had his synth, guitar,drums and violins & other assortments of instruments, which i had no idea he used in songs.All in all, it was a great night!

The 'Bout Damn Time Tour [This Providence - 04.18.10; Toronto]

Openers : The Bigger Lights
                 Anarbor
                 The Audition

  This Providence is a pretty underrated band! I think it's probably because their CD's come off as pretty mellow.. but after this experience I tend to think otherwise..

   This was the first time i have ever seen them live, and it was pretty damn good! Listening to their CD, made me a little hesitant to see what the concert would be like as their music sounds pretty mellow.. But honestly when those boys get into the mood they make their mellow songs come to life! I have never seen so much energy in a crowd for such mellow music! It was a really great experience. The only down side to this show was that the mic sounded really off near the end of the set, but apart from that it was a good show they had a setlist of about 18 songs so it was definitely worth the 20$ !


  something i found neat about how This Providence did about this tour was that EVERYDAY each band member got a disposable camera and they took pictures of behind the scenes before the show that you attended. they called them "Mystery Cameras" as you didn't know which band member's camera you obtained or what was on it when you purchased it. I really wanted to get one, but once Dan announced it during the set so that if you didn't knwo about it before you had your chance to get it.. I didnt wanna bother because everyone rushed to the merch table. I thought it was pretty sweet that the band would let fans get an inside glimpse of what went on behind the scenes before their show. They also encouraged each fan who was lucky enough to get a camera to upload it to their facebook page to share with everyone else! ANOTHER neat thing I have never seen done on a tour before was the first 20 people to arrive to the venue got early entrance, meet and greet, a poster AND an acoustic set (which they wouldn't allow any pictures or video taping) where they performed a NEW song that hasn't been recorded yet and were still in the works. I had to get there around 10am to be able to get in on this, but it was so fucking worth it.


   The only other downfall to this show was that most of their songs feel like sappy love songs, and i don't know.. i sort of get sick of hearing a lot of the same stuff over and over. instrumentally these guys are great! but lyrically, they should find more things to write songs about. One song that was really touching though was "somebody to talk to" Dan Young (the lead singer + he does some guitars) wrote it about when he was small and had to go in and out of the hospital because his brother was ill. and it just shows how people feel about hospitals in general whether someone they know is in there, or they themselves are in there.


   I don't normally post about meeting the band after, but these guys came out at the end into the club to hang out with everyone who came out to the show until we basically got kicked out! these guys are so down to earth and super sweet. it was an amazing experience.

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The Rocket Summer Spring Headliner 2010 - Toronto [04.06.10]

The Rocket Summer is an one man band. His name is Bryce Avary and he writes all of his music, composes it and puts it all together by himself, he just needs help when he is performing. One thing is for sure and that's, that he sure knows how to give fans their money's worth. I have been a fan of him since his album "Do You Feel" came out in 2007, so technically I'm still considered a new fan. But I must admit, he is one who isn't given the credit that he deserves, I can't wait for him to get bigger and finally recognized more within the music scene and he is finally rising up as he opening for big names now such as The Goo Goo Dolls and One Republic.

I have seen him before on the Cheap Date Tour with Forever The Sickest Kids in Philly, but then he was just an opener, so I did not know what to expect for a headliner, but he totally nailed the show! By far it was probably the best show I have ever attended in my life time and trust me.. despite my age i have attended over 30 shows within a 5 year time span.. He was so interactive with the crowd. He jumped into the crowd multiple times, played one song in the middle of the crowd & then let the audience help him "swim" back to the stage, he even let us choose the songs he was going to play for his encore letting the ones in the front pick out a song. The fact he is so into his crowd, shows how dedicated he is to his music and his fans.


Bryce's performance over all was amazing. He had so much energy and the whole show in itself was something inspiring for anyone who has a passion for music. One thing that stood out the most at his show was the fact he played for a good hour and 45 min, and was even able to do a solo in which everyone could get a better insight on how Bryce is truly is a one man band. he started out by getting the band off the stage, he started off with a drum beat and kept it going and put it on repeat. then he moved to the bass where he did the same thing, and then again on the guitar and keys. Once all the parts were put together for the intro of his song "Break It Out", the rest of the band came out and they played the song. That was something I haven't seen anyone do before.


At the end of the night, Bryce came out and hung out with the fans for a bit which in my opinion was awesome. Talking to him, he seemed very tired and sounded exhausted, but then again who wouldn't after playing such a long set. I appreciate the fact he still had the time to come hang out with everyone and didn't leave until everyone had an autograph and picture with him, because some artists won't come and hang out after shows if they are tired, or want to go to an after party.


If you havent already checked out The Rocket Summer, i suggest that you do. His music and shows are really inspiring and uplifting. (:

The Show Must Go.. On the Road - Toronto [Hedley's Spring Tour 2010]

Hedley's back in town and are better than ever. & This time around they have brought Fefe Dobson, Stereos & Boys Like Girls along for the ride. I have seen Hedley multiple times over the past 5 years, and boy oh boy they keep improving and always put on an amazing show for the crowd making each tour memorable in it's own ways, that even a hater would be inlove with these guys at the end. Their new CD "The Show Must Go" shows their progress over the years and compared to their first CD (which i must admit I didn't care for one bit.) , is defiantly worth buying.

These boys have great character, and never disappoint in giving their fans an amazing show that's defiantly worth the money. This was their first major headliner at the Air Canada Centre, they have opened for Simple Plan and Bon Jovi at this venue, but have ever actually held their own show there. They opened with a video with each of them having their own scenarios of getting the message that they have to go on tour, and in the end they all hop into a crate in the back of the van and then the big message appeared on the screen saying "To: Toronto" with just that being done the place went nuts and out popped Hedley!


Jake's character & voice is one of a kind, it is truly amazing to watch him sing and perform on stage as he can provide so much energy to the crowd and goes nuts by doing a bunch of flips, rolling around on stage and jumping. His voice is strong and he can do all the pitches really good on stage, which tends to be a problem when going to shows because the band could be amazing, and in the end the lead singer ruins it because they can't achieve the same pitches as the ones they reached on the CD. With this being said, the band as well played amazing as they have practiced hard getting ready for this tour and it paid off! Hedley let fans get an inside scoop on their tour practices as they had let us watch them practice their songs as often as they could on their twitvid account. One thing that you can appreciate a lot about a Hedley show is the fact that not only do they bring out the acoustics and a grand piano, but they allow their drummer Chris Crippin to do a drum solo. This man is truly talented and you would never expect such a good drummer to be in Hedley hiding in the back behind Jacob Hoggard, Dave Rosin & Tommy MacDonald, it's nice to see band members giving each other a chance to shine in front of their fans.


And as always, a Hedley show is never a Hedley show without some costume changes, cursing and Jake's ass crack! But this time around it was a little different, these boys have really matured! This time the boys pulled out a forest scene, they sat around a fake campfire pulled out some logs to sit on, some big Christmas trees and dressed up as if they were camping in the middle of the stage, pulling out their acoustic guitars. But at the same time Jake's ass crack was no where to be seen, his shirt stayed on the whole show (oh no! what will all the cougars do now that they can't get a little piece of Jake?! ) and no swearing was involved! haha those were some big shockers to me, as it has always been apart of a Hedley show up until now!


At end of the show, Jake took time to thank the fans and tell them how much he appreciates every single one of them, new fans or old, and tells the story of how they got to where they were thanks to each and everyone of them. That in itself isn't something you see bands doing that much anymore. Every Hedley concert I have attened he has thanked everyone for being there and supporting them along the way and it's great to see how down to earth these guys are and never forget what got them where they were.


When it comes down to it, these guys are really lovable, and to see them in concert can really change your mind about the band. The way they perform, present themselves and just give off an overall good vibe, can change your thoughts on them in a heartbeat. They have changed so much, all you haters out there have no idea what you are missing, anyone who can appreciate a good concert would defiantly give these guys a lot more respect than they have been in the past.