Beaker from the Muppets, Little Red Riding Hood, and Medusa in White were spotted at the Commodore Ballroom this Halloween among a crowd that included cowboys, gladiators and Jeffrey, “The Dude” Lebowski.
As a trio of C-Fox DJ’s announced the winners of the Halloween Howler, a production crew member for Big Wreck hauled a pedal board the size of Texas to the front of the stage. By the time the stage was ready for Ian Thornley and crew, there were three such pedal boards, all angled at approximately 45 degrees and placed beside one of three microphones spread evenly at the front of the stage. Behind them, a drum kit and several well stacked amps and cabinets were placed along a perfectly straight backline. A collection of guitar picks and one clear slide were attached to the centre microphone.
Without so much as a single setlist taped to the floor, the stage looked as though it had been laid out by Marie Kondo. The frenetic vibe of opening band Texas King was quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Earlier, the quartet from Toronto had literally bounded onto the stage clad in basketball jerseys and delivered a high energy hard rock show that quickly captivated the Commodore crowd. Lead singer Jordan Macdonald displayed qualities of equal parts rock god, class clown and jock, leaping and hopping from one side of the stage to the other.
Playing in front of a decidedly hard-rock fan base was clearly a step in the right direction, and as their current single “Chandelier” offers listeners a more vulnerable side, it will be interesting to see where they take things from here.
Fans were cheering for Big Wreck long before they even took the stage. Trust me, this band is worth getting excited for. Front man and lead guitarist Ian Thornley can convince a guitar to do just about anything from explosive riffs to epic wailing solos. It’s insane to think he also writes lyrics that can cut you to your core and then deliver them with a smoky howl that can inspire you to try and belt them out at the top of your lungs while you try to hold back tears you didn’t even know were there.
Rumor has it, Thornley also has the guts to stop playing mid song and call out aggressive fans for taking their frustrations out on others.
The three other musicians that round out Big Wreck do far more than simply hold their own beside the musical prowess of Ian Thornley. Guitarist Chris Cadell has probably the toughest job of all, filling the void left by founding member Brian Doherty who passed away this spring. It’s a task he manages gracefully as he fits in well alongside Thornley, bassist Dave McMillan and drummer Chuck Keeping while adding his own edgy style to the mix.
The foursome opened their set with “Voices” the opening track from their newest album But for the Sun and featured a number of songs from it. Of course, they also played most of their radio hits, some of which were intertwined with other classic songs.
My favourite was the intensely nostalgic track “Wolves” from the brilliant album Albatross. They led into it with a sweet cover of “Ahead by a Century” by the Tragically Hip. I always love a good hip cover and I appreciated that the two songs approached the subject of the ever-burning flame of first love from such different lenses.
A new guitar seemed to appear from backstage at almost every song, passed to the three string players by a few hard-working production crew members lurking behind the speakers. Although the spotlight mostly shines on Thornley as he floats across the stage, slipping into a guitar solo after belting out lyrics, all four members of Big Wreck had their moments on stage. In fact, Dave McMillan might have laid down one of the deadliest bass solos I can recall hearing live.
I also loved hearing “Locomotive” live. Easily my favourite from the But for the Sun, it’s a fast-paced scorcher of a song that is one of their more playful tunes to date.
One of the last songs of the night was “Ghosts” and I feel like I heard that song in a whole different light. It began with a long, beautiful guitar solo that I loved but didn’t recognize and for whatever reason, the lyrics seemed to have more weight than they had before for me.
I’ve been a Big Wreck fan for quite some time now, but this was my first time seeing them live and I can promise you, I will be making a point of seeing them next time they are in town and the time after that, and the time after that.
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