Opening the show in Toronto for the Coming Back to Earth tour, headlined by The Dangerous Summer, was a small local pop-punk band called New Anthem. Based out of Newmarket Ontario, they are typically a full 4-piece outfit, however, they were down by 2 last night. The singer/guitarist duo gave everything they had for 20 minutes, playing an entirely acoustic set.  

Rosecoloredworld, a pop-punk duo from LA (after almost not making it to the venue at all due to a van breakdown), came onto the stage with the energy of wildfire. Addison (guitar, vocals) and Rae (vocals), along with a touring bass player and drummer, were taking no excuses from the crowd for a lack of energy.  Their gritty melodic songs were great for getting the energy up. Playing a number of their original tracks and then folding in a fun Radiohead cover of “Creep” midway through played really well to the fans who were already in attendance. 

The third band on the ticket was New York’s quartet Bad Luck. They tore up the small stage at the Velvet Underground with energy to spare with their quintessential New York (East Coast, grungy punk/rock) sound. The crowd was starting to turn up in earnest at this stage – and they were enjoying dancing and jumping around to this energetic group.     

The Dangerous Summer capped off the night in splendid fashion. The quartet of alt-rockers, made up of AJ Perdomo (vocals/bass), Josh Witenshaw (guitar), Christian Zawacki (drums), and touring guitarist Marcus Leopard, took to the small club stage to cheering and screaming from the fans who were ready for AJ and Company to hit the stage. Founded in Ellicott City, MD, the band has been active for nearly 20 years. The setlist, 15 songs, was a very good mix of old and new, including 4 songs off their most recent release Gravity, while also incorporating a good selection of their first album (Reach for the Sun) – and everything in between. They concluded their set with the encore, a cover of The Killer’s hit song “Mr. Brightside” to a delighted room full of fans, who sang along from start to finish.  

Small venue shows offer something different to a fan, they offer the closeness to the artists, and the intimacy of a show that can include a 20-minute acoustic set to a jumping, sweaty mass of bodies a little later in the evening. At the end of the show, a line of fans eagerly waited at the merch stand, ready to get selfies and talk to the band they came to see, who, tending their own inventory, were all more than happy to comply with meeting and greeting all their fans.

See photos of the show below!