Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Alex Warren Finds Family on the Road at Rogers Arena
One year ago, Alex Warren was playing Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre. On Sunday night, he walked onto the stage at Rogers Arena in front of nearly 20,000 people for the Vancouver stop of his Finding Family on the Road Tour.
That kind of jump can expose an artist’s weaknesses. Plenty of performers who thrive in clubs and theatres struggle once the rooms get bigger and the production gets larger. Their personalities get lost somewhere between the video screens and the confetti cannons, yet Warren never came close to that problem.
Before he appeared, opening act Nat & Alex Wolff warmed up the crowd with a short but engaging set. The New York brothers leaned into their easy chemistry, mixing indie-pop hooks with plenty of crowd interaction. Still, the anticipation in the arena was unmistakably for Warren.
The show opened with touching home videos from his childhood projected across the giant screens. It felt like both sentimental and a mission statement. Family, both the one Warren lost and the one he has built around himself, remains at the centre of everything he does.
He wasted little time launching into “Troubled Waters,” immediately sending excitement through the arena. From there, he rolled through early highlights including “Bloodline,” “The Outside,” and “First Time on Earth.”
What stood out wasn’t the production, though there was plenty of it. It was Warren‘s command of the room. For someone whose rise began on social media, Warren understands live performance remarkably well. He knows when to joke, when to tell a story, and when to step aside and let the audience take over. Throughout the night he read signs, spoke directly to fans, and delivered the kind of spontaneous interactions that can’t be programmed into a production schedule.
The audience responded to every moment. Many were young fans who have followed his life for years, and the relationship between artist and crowd felt unusually personal for a venue this size.
Vocally, Warren continues to silence anyone who still sees him primarily as a former content creator. Songs like “The Outside” and “Eternity” showcased the power and clarity in his voice, particularly when he pushed into his upper register. During “Eternity,” a massive sing-along broke out across Rogers Arena, with nearly every section joining in.
The emotional core of the evening arrived during the B-stage portion of the set. To get there, Warren left the main stage and made his way through the crowd, high-fiving fans, stopping for selfies, and turning the walk into an event of its own.
After reaching the smaller stage in the middle of the floor, Warren stripped away much of the arena spectacle and focused on the stories behind the songs. Before performing the unreleased “Same Stars,” he asked fans to put their phones away and experience the moment with him rather than recording it. He then spoke about losing both of his parents and the loneliness that often comes with grief. He reminded the audience that people die twice: once when they pass away and again when their stories stop being told. You could hear a pin drop as phone lights illuminated the arena.
It’s a difficult balance. Warren‘s music often deals with grief, loss, and healing, and there are moments where the emotional weight borders on overwhelming. At times, the show asks a lot from its audience, who ended up in tears several times. Yet those moments never felt manipulative. They felt genuine, even when they were uncomfortable.
“Fine Place To Die” was one of the strongest moments of the night. Sitting alone at the piano, Warren delivered the song acoustically after explaining that everything heard throughout the show was being performed live by him and his musicians. Before starting, he joked, “If I fuck up, post it on TikTok,” earning one of the night’s biggest laughs. Alongside “Heaven Without You,” the stripped-back performance highlighted Warren‘s songwriting and emotional delivery.
The final run of songs shifted the mood back toward celebration. During “Getaway Car,” Warren took a moment to introduce each member of his band, giving the musicians their own chance to shine before launching back into the set. “You Can’t Stop This” and “Burning Down” brought fresh energy into the arena before “FEVER DREAM” exploded into one of the night’s biggest singalongs, complete with confetti cannons and enough excitement to shake the building.
The final run of songs shifted the mood back toward celebration. “Getaway Car,” “You Can’t Stop This,” and “Burning Down” brought fresh energy into the arena before “FEVER DREAM” exploded into one of the night’s biggest singalongs, complete with confetti cannons and enough excitement to shake the building.
Warren explained that the confetti button is normally pushed by his wife, Kouvr, but since she wasn’t in Vancouver, the honour went to fellow musician Cameron Whitcomb, who had just finished performing at the FIFA Fan Festival earlier that day. Whitcomb’s excitement was impossible to miss as confetti filled the arena.
With the encore came the moment everyone had been waiting for. As the opening notes of “Ordinary” rang out, Rogers Arena erupted. The Billboard-topping hit has become Warren‘s defining song, and hearing nearly every person in the building scream the lyrics back at him was one of those rare concert moments where the scale of an artist’s rise becomes impossible to ignore.
A year ago, Alex Warren was proving he belonged in theatres. On Sunday night, he proved he belongs in arenas. More impressively, he managed to make Rogers Arena feel a lot smaller than it actually is.
After the final notes faded, Warren returned to the B-stage one last time to take a bow. Beside him was a young girl who had earlier asked to push the confetti button herself. He gave her something even better. It was a small gesture, but it perfectly captured the spirit of the night: a massive arena show that never lost sight of the people in the room.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
Wednesday, June 17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Friday, June 19 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
Sunday, June 21 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Tuesday, June 23 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Thursday, June 25 – Atlanta GA – State Farm Arena
Friday, June 26 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
Saturday, June 27 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena
Monday, June 29 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Thursday, July 2 – Minneapolis, MN – Grand Casino Arena
Friday, July 3 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest – American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Sunday, July 5 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Tuesday, July 7 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
Wednesday, July 8 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Friday, July 10 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
Saturday, July 11 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavillion
Monday, July 13 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Wednesday, July 15 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Find out more information about the tour here.
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Young the Giant Finds New Life in Old Songs on the Victory Garden Tour
On July 24, Young the Giant brought the Victory Garden Tour to Vancouver’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, with Beach Weather and Cold War Kids opening the night. The show had the familiar shape of a summer tour stop, but Young the Giant made a convincing argument for why a band with six albums behind it can still make a new chapter feel worth hearing.
Beach Weather opened the night with a short, easygoing set that got the crowd moving without trying too hard to steal the show. The band joined the tour as a late addition after KennyHoopla was forced to drop off the run, and they made the most of the opportunity. Their set was loose, melodic and built for a summer crowd.
Cold War Kids were a different proposition. They have been around long enough now that calling them an indie rock band feels almost too broad. Their music has lived through several different eras of alternative radio, and their live show carries that history without becoming a museum piece.
Nathan Willett remains an excellent singer, with a voice that sounds remarkably close to the records live. He was joined by a band that looked completely comfortable onstage, particularly bassist Matt Maust, who has a wonderfully loose way of moving around with his instrument, and drummer Joe Plummer, who supplied much of the night’s physical momentum.
The set included staples such as “Hang Me Up to Dry” and “First,” along with newer material and songs that reached further back into the band’s catalogue.
Cold War Kids sounded good. More than that, they looked like a band that knows exactly what it is doing. Their performance had the kind of relaxed confidence that only comes from years of playing together. They were a strong fit for the bill, and the crowd that stayed for them was rewarded.
There is still something slightly strange about watching Young the Giant occupy the role of veteran alternative rock band. The members are not old, neither are the songs. And yet the people who grew up with “Cough Syrup” and “My Body” are now standing in a venue wondering where the hell the time went.
The band opened with “Evergreen,” the first track from Victory Garden, and it immediately established the show’s visual language. Five large, flower-like fixtures surrounded the stage, shifting through different colours as the set progressed. It was an obvious extension of the album’s artwork and title, but it never felt like an overproduced gimmick. The flowers gave the stage a distinct identity and helped the new material feel like part of a larger story.
Sameer Gadhia remains the band’s biggest weapon. His voice is every bit as impressive live as it is on record, but his presence is what separates him from a lot of other alternative rock frontmen. He does not simply stand at the microphone and sing. He moves, dances, gestures and works the room without making any of it feel calculated. He has the rare ability to make a large venue feel personal without pretending it is a small club.
The setlist leaned heavily into Victory Garden as nine of the 22 songs came from the new record, giving the album enough space to exist on its own rather than functioning as filler between older hits. That choice will inevitably frustrate some fans who came for the greatest hits, but I would rather see a band commit to its current record than spend two hours recreating the past.
The new material held up. “Already There,” “Bitter Fruit,” “Mona Lisa,” “God as Witness,” “Ships Passing” and “Different Kind of Love” all found their place in the set. “Ships Passing” was particularly strong, with the band folding a brief passage from “Titus Was Born” into the song before letting it build. “Different Kind of Love,” meanwhile, carried the confidence of a band that has found a fresh creative spark. The song became Young the Giant‘s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart,.
The older songs, naturally, still were the most popular. “Apartment” remains one of the band’s best songs, and hearing the opening guitar fill the venue was one of the night’s early highlights. “Garands” was a welcome deep cut, followed by “I Got” and the Home of the Strange pairing of “Repeat” and “Mr. Know-It-All.” This year marks a decade since Home of the Strange, and the set gave the album enough attention to acknowledge that milestone without turning the show into an anniversary tour.
“My Body” has been played to death over the years, but it remains impossible to resist live. The opening brought an immediate reaction from the crowd, and by the chorus, the entire venue was moving. “Cough Syrup” had a similar effect. The opening guitar was enough to trigger a roar, followed by thousands of phones appearing in the air. The song has become the band’s calling card for a reason. It still works.
The band eventually closed with “Mind Over Matter,” one of its biggest songs and a fitting end to a set that spent the night balancing the past with the present. There was no drawn-out encore routine. No disappearing backstage only to return minutes later because everyone knows the script. Young the Giant played the songs they wanted to play, gave the new album room to breathe, and left.
The Victory Garden Tour is built around the idea of reconnecting with joy and approaching life with a little more curiosity and empathy. Those ideas can sound overly earnest in the wrong hands. Young the Giant mostly avoids that trap by putting the message where it belongs: inside the songs.
Six albums into a career that began when the band members were barely out of their teens, Young the Giant no longer needs to prove that it belongs here. The more interesting question is what it wants to do next. In Vancouver, the answer seemed clear: keep the old songs alive, give the new ones a fair shot, and keep moving. For a band that has spent more than 15 years growing up in public, that is a pretty good victory.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
YOUNG THE GIANT
COLD WAR KIDS
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Jimmy Eat World Brings Bleed American Back to Life in Vancouver
There are some concerts you go to with no idea what you’re going to get. A 25th anniversary tour built around one of the best albums out there is not one of them. You know the songs, the order, exactly when the big moments are coming ; the only real question is whether the band can make those songs feel as alive as they did the first time you heard them. Jimmy Eat World had no trouble answering that question.
On July 19, the Arizona rock band finally returned to the Vancouver area for the first time since 2017, bringing the Bleed American 25th Anniversary Tour to the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. It had been a long wait, and the packed room made it clear that fans had not forgotten what they had been waiting for.
Motion City Soundtrack opened the night, giving the crowd a strong dose of early-2000s nostalgia before Jimmy Eat World took the stage. It was a fitting pairing. Both bands came of age during a period when alternative rock, pop-punk and emo could still find a home on mainstream radio, and both have built careers that outlasted the era that first made them famous.
For me, though, the night carried a more personal weight for a different reason: this was my first time seeing Jimmy Eat World live. After more than three decades as a band, and nearly a decade since their last Vancouver appearance, the fact that it took until 2026 for me to finally see them live made the wait feel even more significant.
Jimmy Eat World began the evening with songs from Clarity, their 1999 breakthrough album, including “Clarity,” “Your New Aesthetic,” “Blister,” and “Lucky Denver Mint.” It was a smart choice. The band could have gone straight into Bleed American and given everyone exactly what they came for, but those opening songs made a point: Jimmy Eat World did not suddenly become a great band in 2001. They had already been doing this for years.
Then they switched to “Bleed American,” and the stage itself transformed. A large wall that had kept the full production hidden from view moved aside, revealing the expanded Bleed American stage setup behind it. The lighting rig opened up across the width of the stage, giving the band a much bigger canvas for the album that had changed their career. It was a smart bit of theatre without feeling overproduced.
The album was performed from beginning to end, and hearing it in sequence made one thing very clear: Bleed American is an unusually complete record. The obvious hits are there, but so are the songs that tend to get pushed aside when a band is working with a limited setlist.
“A Praise Chorus” remains an absolute rush. “The Middle,” one of JEW‘s biggest and most recognizable hits, turned the venue into a massive singalong. “Sweetness” took that energy even further, with thousands of people shouting every “whoa-oh” back at the stage. “Get It Faster” brought the aggression. “Your House” offered one of the night’s more affecting moments. And “Hear You Me” remains one of those songs that can stop you in your tracks, even after you’ve heard it hundreds of times.
The beauty of hearing Bleed American played from start to finish is getting the full picture. The album has explosive highs, quieter emotional moments and everything in between. Songs that don’t always get the spotlight in a regular setlist suddenly have room to breathe.
Jim Adkins remains a compelling frontman, delivering these songs with the same sincerity that made them work in the first place. Tom Linton’s guitar playing was sharp and energetic, while Rick Burch and Zach Lind continued to provide the steady foundation that has held this band together for more than three decades.
There was no sense that the band was simply going through the motions of an anniversary tour. They looked like they were having fun and so did the fans.
That crowd was one of the best parts of the night. Fans who discovered Bleed American when it was released stood beside younger listeners who weren’t even alive when the album came out. Everybody seemed to know the words.
The main set ended with “My Sundown,” bringing the album to its quiet conclusion before the band briefly left the stage.
Jimmy Eat World returned for a five-song encore that moved beyond Bleed American, opening with “Disintegration” and continuing through “Pain,” “For Me This Is Heaven” and “(Splash) Turn Twist” before closing with “23.” It was a fitting reminder that Bleed American may have been the record that changed the band’s career, but it is only one piece of a catalog that has kept giving fans reasons to stick around.
Twenty-five years after Bleed American changed everything for the band, these songs haven’t become museum pieces. They’re very much still capable of making a room full of people lose their voices.
And after waiting nine years to see Jimmy Eat World back in Vancouver, I can say this with complete confidence: it was worth the wait.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
Upcoming Tour Dates:
July 22 –– Sandy, UT –– Sandy Amphitheater
July 24 –– Concord, CA –– Toyota Pavilion at Concord
July 25-26 –– Long Beach, CA –– Vans Warped Tour
August 14 –– Halifax, UK –– The Piece Hall
August 15 –– Cardiff, UK –– Cardiff Castle
August 16 –– London, UK –– Gunnersbury Park
August 22 –– Montreal, QC –– Vans Warped Tour
August 23 –– Toronto, ON –– RBC Amphitheatre
September 6 –– Phoenix, AZ –– Chase Field, supporting My Chemical Romance
September 9 –– Austin, TX –– Moody Amphitheater
September 10 –– Dallas, TX –– The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
September 12-13 –– Mexico City, MX –– Vans Warped Tour
November 12 –– Nashville, TN –– TBA
November 14 –– Tampa, FL –– MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
November 14-15 –– Orlando, FL –– Vans Warped Tour
More information here.
JIMMY EAT WORLD
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer