Toronto’s July Talk filled London Music Hall this past Easter Sunday giving fans an alternative to the usual holiday dinner, or maybe it was just an extra treat. Regardless, it was the best Easter Sunday I’ve ever had, and about 1600 screaming, singing fans seemed to agree.
The three-time Juno award winning band brought their Remember Never Before tour to a town that clearly loves them. This was their third live show in London in 16 months and it was tremendously fun.
Opening with After This, the first song off their latest album, the dynamic duo of Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay set the tone for the evening. Pulling heavily from Remember Never More, four of the first five songs were new and eight overall for the night. There were plenty of fan favorites from the earlier albums as well. Picturing Love, Push + Pull, Guns + Ammunition, Summer Dress, are pretty much standard at all their shows. During Beck + Call, Dreimanis did a stage dive from the front barrier and crowd surfed while holding his cabled mic. It almost looked like a lifeline while he was out there and he was skillfully reeled back to the stage.
There is always great play between Peter and Leah on stage and the fog and back lighting are used to great effect. There was a lot of use of videos with the songs as well. It makes for a very theatrical experience to go with their unique sound and one of the best live shows around. It can sometimes be easy to forget they have a great group of band members with them on stage with so much focus on the two out front.
The crowd sang along loudly to fan favorite Lola + Joseph and then the band played three straight from Remember Never Before, before finishing the main set with Push + Pull. There was a three-song encore that ended with their most popular closing song The Garden.
Oshawa Prog Rock duo Crown Lands opened the show with a powerful set that had a strong Rush and Led Zeppelin vibe. These guys toured as openers for Great Van Fleet last fall and have the potential to explode in popularity in the same way that Greta did. They’ve gotten the attention of big players in the world of rock music and won Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2021 Junos.
July Talk / Crown Lands
London Music Hall
London, ON
April 8, 2023
All photos by Dan Boshart
July Talk
Crown Lands
