Toronto Crowd Goes Wild for Nothing More

Nothing More Toronto Nothing More put on a show to remember and thrilled a packed Toronto crowd at Danforth Music Hall on Wednesday April 5th. The heavy metal rockers from San Antonio Texas haven’t been to Canada in a few years and the fans at this show were raring to see their heroes in action.

Opening with a recording of Mr. Sandman which slowed down at the end in a mighty creepy way, the band made their entrance and launched into “Spirits”, the title track from their latest album. Frontman Jonny Hawkins is a force and commands the stage with his powerful voice, long mane, and shirtless painted torso. Guitarist Mark Vollelunga and bassist Daniel Oliver also put on an animated performance with Ben Anderson keeping it steady in the back on drums.

There was a constant flow of crowd surfers through the set and at least one girl who tried to rush on the stage. The fans are really passionate about the band and their music, and the band cares about their fans.

One of their biggest songs is “Jenny”, written by Hawkins as a warning to his sister who was going through a serious bout of bipolar disorder at the time. Hawkins said before the start of the song, “This one goes out to anyone who has a Jenny in their life”. The crowd joined in singing the refrain, “Jenny Jenny Jenny”, clearly a fan favorite.

For “Turn It Up Like (Stand in the Fire)”, the Scorpion Tail came out and Hawkins jumped on the mechanical contraption that manipulates the music with levers like a giant dubstep machine. Bassist Daniel Oliver crafted the machine out of motorcycle and car parts and has other stage devices planned for the future. It’s cool to see bands experiment and invest in their live performance rather than just stand there. I can listen to music at home if that’s the case. I love a stage show!

Before playing “I’ll Be OK” from their 2014 eponymous titled album, Hawkins asked the fans, “How many of you have a Nothing More tattoo? This next one seems to be the most tattooed lyric”. The band seems to be all about telling their fans they’ll be ok. The fans appreciate that and return the love at every show.

For the final song of the night Hawkins told the throng that, “We’re not a band that does encores. This is the last song but it’s a good one. They proceeded to perform “This Is the Time” and finished with a band jam outro in which fans at the front were asked to hold a pair of drums while Hawkins played them.

Crown The Empire, a metalcore band from Dallas Texas and San Diego hardcore punk band Thousand Below opened the night.

Noting More / Crown The Empire / Thousand Below
Danforth Music Hall
Toronto, ON
April 5, 2023
All photos by Dan Boshart

Nothing More