Concerts Reviews
Halestorm and Lindsey Stirling Reach New Heights on the nEVEREST Tour in Vancouver
If anyone in Vancouver still doubts that violin and metal can share the same stage, the nEVEREST Tour put that question to rest on October 10 at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. The lineup of Apocalyptica, Lindsey Stirling, and Halestorm felt like a musical science experiment gone right. Three acts that couldn’t be more different, yet somehow fit together like a perfectly distorted chord.
The night kicked off with Apocalyptica, Finland’s cello-wielding metal veterans. The lights dimmed, and the classic Ennio Morricone track “The Ecstasy of Gold” filled the arena. Metallica fans knew what was coming. Moments later, the three cellists stormed the stage and ripped into “Bettery.” You could feel the bass in your chest, but it wasn’t coming from guitars, it was the sheer power of those cellos.
They powered through a set packed with Metallica covers: “Master of Puppets,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “Nothing Else Matters.” The band has been at it since the mid-’90s, and it shows. By the time they closed with “Seek and Destroy,” the crowd was chanting along as if Metallica themselves were onstage.
Then came Lindsey Stirling, and the mood shifted from heavy to heavenly, though not in a soft way. Stirling has built a career on making the violin feel like a rock weapon, and in Vancouver, she was unstoppable. Backed by her band and dancers, Stirling hit the stage like a spark of kinetic energy in human form.
Every song had choreography, costume changes, and a story woven through it. “The Phoenix” opened the show in a swirl of lights and motion, with Stirling leaping and spinning as her bow lit up in time with the music. She mixed songs from her 2024 album Duality with fan-favourites like “Crystallize” and “Roundtable Rival.”
A highlight came when Stirling rolled out her now-famous “spin-the-wheel” segment. Fans cheered as she gave the wheel a dramatic flick to determine the night’s mystery song. Despite Stirling wanting the arrow to land on “Carol of the Bells” to fit the wintery temperature of Vancouver, it landed on deep cut “Til the Light Goes Out”. She also threw in her covers of “Sandstorm” and “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” giving both dance tracks a violin twist that somehow felt even more energetic than the originals.
Stirling’s connection with the crowd was effortless. She cracked jokes between songs, got everyone to light up their phones for “Firefly Alley,” and thanked fans for supporting her for over a decade since her America’s Got Talent days. Watching her command the stage, it’s hard to imagine anyone ever telling her she wasn’t “right for television.” She’s built an entire career proving how wrong they were.
By the time Halestorm took the stage, the crowd was already buzzing. The white curtain went up, silhouettes appeared, and then the drop. Confetti shot into the air as Lzzy Hale’s unmistakable scream cut through the noise, launching into “Fallen Star” off their new album Everest. But this show was extra special ad it was Lzzy’s birthday, and the Vancouver crowd had planned ahead.
Before the curtain dropped, the entire pit section held up signs wishing her a happy birthday, along with inflatable gold letters spelling it out across the barricade. When the lights came up, Lzzy saw it all mid-song, grinning through the opening riff as confetti rained down. The fans kept the signs raised through the entire first song, turning the arena into a giant birthday card. She called it “the best surprise I’ve ever gotten at a show,” clearly moved by the effort.
Halestorm have always been a force live, but that extra energy pushed them even higher Lzzy’s vocals were razor sharp, switching from growls to high notes with ease. Joe Hottinger’s guitar work was as tight as ever, and Arejay Hale looked like he was drumming to save his life. His mid-set solo included a battle with a giant inflatable Yeti hand (a nod to the Everest album cover), which ended with him pulling out massive drumsticks to finish the duel. The crowd loved every second of it.
The setlist leaned heavily on Everest, with “Like a Woman Can” (bringing back two Apocalyptica members on stage to add dimension to the song), “How Will You Remember Me,” and “I Gave You Everything” sitting comfortably alongside staples like “Love Bites (So Do I)” and “I Miss the Misery.” Lzzy took a moment at the piano for “Shiver” and “Break In,” her voice echoing through the arena with an intensity that silenced the chatter. You could tell she meant every word.
Then came the moment everyone was waiting for: Lindsey Stirling returned to the stage for a duet of “Shatter Me,” the track they recorded together a decade ago. The energy between them was electric: two women from different worlds sharing one song and absolutely nailing it. Stirling twirled as Lzzy belted.
Halestorm closed the night with “Here’s to Us,” toasting the crowd and each other. Confetti rained down again, this time golden, as the band raised their glasses in one final salute.
Walking out into the chilly Vancouver night, fans looked dazed in the best way, like they’d just been through three different concerts in one. That’s the beauty of the nEVEREST Tour: it’s heavy, it’s theatrical, and it’s unlike anything else on the road right now.
If you ever needed proof that metal, symphony, and performance art can live under the same roof, Halestorm, Lindsey Stirling, and Apocalyptica just gave it to you.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
HALESTORM
LINDSEY STIRLING
APOCALYPTICA
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: The Last Dinner Party Turned Vancouver’s Orpheum Into Their Own Gothic Playground
There’s a thin line between theatrical and try-hard. The Last Dinner Party spend most of their live show sprinting directly at that line, then somehow vaulting over it without falling flat on their face. At the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver on May 19, the band’s From The Pyre Tour felt huge, dramatic, occasionally ridiculous, and fully convincing anyway.
That’s harder to pull off than people give them credit for. A lot of bands borrow aesthetics: velvet curtains, religious imagery, corsets, vintage silhouettes, tragic womanhood as performance art. The Last Dinner Party actually build a world around those ideas and commit to it so fully that the audience starts behaving like they’ve entered the same universe. Walking into the Orpheum before the show felt like arriving late to an elaborate costume party where everyone had been assigned a literary archetype ahead of time with lace gloves, ribboned dresses, heavy boots, and tiny opera binoculars. One woman looked like she’d escaped from a haunted manor in 1872 ; another looked ready to front an early-2000s emo band. Somehow both made sense.
The Last Dinner Party opened with “Agnus Dei,” and immediately the whole production snapped into focus. The towering drapery, faux-stone staging, dim cathedral lighting, and the band’s carefully styled costumes could have overwhelmed the actual music in weaker hands. Instead, it sharpened it. The set design wasn’t decoration, it functioned like an extension of the songs themselves.
Frontwoman Abigail Morris remains one of the most magnetic performers working right now partly because she never performs like she’s above any of this. Plenty of singers can command a room. Morris pulls people into one. She spent nearly two hours stalking across the stage, throwing herself into songs with total conviction, then suddenly grinning between tracks like she still can’t believe the band got this big this fast. That balance matters as without it, the band’s maximalism could easily turn self-serious. Instead, the show constantly breathed.
The run of “Count the Ways,” “The Feminine Urge,” and “Caesar on a TV Screen” early in the set was absurdly strong. Guitarist Emily Roberts shredded through riffs with a refreshingly unpolished swagger compared to a lot of modern indie rock’s obsession with restraint. There were moments during “Caesar on a TV Screen” where the entire show tipped into full glam-rock spectacle. Big gestures, big harmonies, big emotions, and no apology for any of it.
Midway through the set, things got darker and more interesting. Songs from From The Pyre carried far more weight live than they do on record, especially “Woman Is a Tree” and “Rifle.” The quieter moments felt genuinely tense inside the Orpheum. You could hear the room lock in. During the eerie vocal opening of “Woman Is a Tree,” the band gathered close together beneath dim lighting while shadowy bird imagery hovered overhead. It was one of the night’s best moments.
The absence of bassist Georgia Davies, who remains off tour recovering from injury, was acknowledged warmly. Touring bassist Max Lilley handled the material well, though Davies’ absence still felt noticeable in a band this chemistry-driven. The Last Dinner Party work best when they feel like five personalities colliding together at once.
Keyboardist Aurora Nishevci quietly stole several moments throughout the night, especially during “I Hold Your Anger,” which landed with force live. The band’s harmonies remain their secret weapon. Beneath all the theatricality and visual ambition, they’re still an exceptionally tight musicianship-first band.
Before launching into “Nothing Matters,” Morris asked the crowd to put their phones away for one song. The people listened and suddenly the room felt freer and less self-conscious. The balcony shook during the chorus as people screamed every word back at the stage.
The encore leaned fully into chaos. “This Is the Killer Speaking” arrived with dance instructions and country-western absurdity. By the time the band closed with an “Agnus Dei” reprise, the crowd looked exhausted and completely won over.
The Last Dinner Party are already very good. What makes this tour exciting is that they still feel slightly dangerous around the edges. There are moments where the ambition threatens to spill over, moments where things nearly become too theatrical or too sentimental. But they should protect that feeling at all costs.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
Upcoming From The Pyre Tour Dates:
05/20 Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall %
05/22 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo %
05/26 Sacramento, CA – Channel 24 %
05/27 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater %
05/29 Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre %
05/31 Del Mar, CA – The Sound %
06/02 Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom %
06/04 Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom %
06/05 Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre %
06/07 Detroit, MI – Masonic Jack White Theatre %
06/09 Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! %
06/10 Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle %
06/12 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte %
06/13 Atlanta, GA – The Eastern %
% with Automatic
More information here.
THE LAST DINNER PARTY
AUTOMATIC
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Arkells Close Out Vancouver City Takeover With Explosive Commodore Set
Canadian rock band Arkells wrapped up the Vancouver stop of its “Between Us City Takeovers” run on May 9 with a packed show at Commodore Ballroom. After two smaller warm-up gigs earlier in the week at The Penthouse and Hollywood Theatre, the band landed in the sweet spot Saturday night: a legendary venue large enough for a full-on singalong, but still intimate enough to feel personal.
The evening opened with a set from Ernesto Trombodo, a trombone-playing DJ who quickly won over the early crowd with a loose, energetic performance that leaned into funk, indie rock, and a bit of playful chaos.
Arkells walked onstage to deafening cheers and wasted no time getting things moving. Frontman Max Kerman has built a reputation as one of Canada’s most engaging live performers, and he spent nearly the entire night in motion, dancing across the stage, climbing onto the stage set up, and constantly interacting with fans near the barricade. Even after nearly two decades as a band, Arkells still perform like they’re trying to win over every person in the room for the first time.
The show itself was split into two acts. The first half featured Between Us performed front to back, giving the band space to fully settle into the newer material before launching into a second set packed with fan favourites and older hits. It was a smart format that made the night feel more like an event than a standard tour stop.
Their energy has always been their secret weapon. The songs themselves are straightforward: big hooks, driving rhythms, choruses built for crowds to shout back. Live, though, they hit differently. At the Commodore, tracks like “Boss,” “Leather Jacket,” and “Knocking” became massive communal moments. Nearly every lyric echoed back toward the stage from the sold-out crowd.
The concert was technically in support of the band’s latest album, Between Us, but it never felt like one of those shows where fans politely tolerate the new material while waiting for the hits. Kerman recently explained that smaller and mid-sized venues give new songs space to grow naturally before they move into arenas and festival fields, and that idea made sense watching these tracks unfold live.
The newer material carries a noticeable ‘90s-pop-rock influence, with heavier keyboards and polished grooves that feel a little like vintage Hall & Oates filtered through modern indie rock. Onstage, though, the songs still carried the same punch and warmth Arkells fans expect.
One of the most interesting things about this mini-tour was the stripped-down setup. Arkells often tour with additional musicians and their Northern Soul Horns, particularly for festival appearances, but this run was just the core five members: Kerman, guitarist Mike DeAngelis, bassist Nick Dika, drummer Tim Oxford, and keyboardist Anthony Carone.
The leaner lineup worked in the Commodore’s favour. Without the extra layers, the songs felt more immediate and rough around the edges. There was a looseness to the performance that made the night feel less choreographed and more spontaneous. Kerman joked several times between songs, told stories about the band’s early Vancouver shows, and kept the atmosphere relaxed.
At one point, he reflected on how many stories the Commodore’s walls would be able to tell with the amount of times they played there. The crowd laughed, but it tied perfectly into the spirit of the City Takeovers concept: revisiting the kinds of venues that shaped the band long before arena headlining slots and festival crowds became normal.
That connection between band and audience defined the night. Arkells have never been a cool-from-a-distance type of rock band. Their shows thrive on participation. Fans danced constantly on the Commodore’s famous sprung floor, strangers screamed lyrics together, and phones popped up every few minutes as Kerman (and once accompanied by Ernesto Trombodo) wandered through the crowd during several songs.
By the final stretch of the set, “Leather Jacket” tipped the room into celebration mode. “Leather Jacket.” The night closed with Kerman standing near the side tables of the Commodore with just his guitar, leading the crowd through a massive a cappella singalong.
What made this show stand out wasn’t massive production or elaborate visuals. There were no fireworks, giant video screens, or over-produced transitions. Arkells relied entirely on chemistry, songwriting, crowd connection, and great music.
For a band that now headlines arenas and major festivals across Canada, these smaller “City Takeovers” could have easily felt like a nostalgia exercise. Instead, the Vancouver finale felt fresh and purposeful. Arkells weren’t just revisiting old rooms for sentimental reasons. They were reminding people why they became one of the country’s most reliable live bands in the first place.
And judging by the volume inside the Commodore Ballroom on Saturday night, Vancouver was very happy to welcome them back.
Arkells will be back in Vancouver on July 7 at the new PNE Amphitheatre for the FIFA Fan Festival.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
ARKELLS
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer