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: Teddy Swims Brings Soul, Personality and Flying Hot Dogs to His First Vancouver Arena Show
Teddy Swims has come a long way from his first performances in Vancouver. After previously playing the Orpheum and returning last year for a show at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, the Georgia-born singer-songwriter stepped up to Rogers Arena on November 6 for his first arena show in the city. Part of his UGLY Tour, the night was a chance to see just how much his audience has grown. Judging by the crowd, he has plenty of people coming along for the ride.
The evening opened with MarcLo, a singer, songwriter and producer whose songwriting credits include work connected to Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus and Swims himself. Performing largely as a one-man band, he handled his instruments while moving around the stage and trying to get an arena crowd on board. It was an ambitious job for someone on his first tour, but he showed enough personality and potential to make an impression.
Allen Stone followed with a performance that brought a different kind of soul to the evening. His distinctive voice and natural stage presence made him a fitting addition to a lineup built around powerful vocals. By the time Swims took the stage, the audience was ready.
Born Jaten Dimsdale, Swims has built his career around a voice that’s hard to mistake. His mix of soul, R&B, pop and rock gives him plenty of room to move, but it’s that raspy, full-bodied delivery that makes him stand out. There is something slightly unexpected about hearing such a massive voice come from someone with such an easygoing, sometimes goofy personality. That contrast is a big part of his appeal.
The production matched the size of the venue. A multilevel stage inspired by Atlanta, complete with fire escapes, a graffiti-covered pay phone and a vintage hot dog stand, gave the performance a lived-in setting rather than the usual collection of screens and lighting effects. Swims made good use of it, moving between levels and treating the entire structure as part of the show.
His entrance set the tone, but the surprises kept coming. During “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” a hot dog cart appeared onstage. It wasn’t long before Swims was firing actual hot dogs into the audience using a modified cannon. It’s the sort of thing that sounds ridiculous on paper, and it was even funnier in person. Arena shows can sometimes take themselves a little too seriously. Swims clearly has no interest in doing that.
For all the theatrical moments, Swims‘ voice remained the main attraction. “The Door,” “Guilty” and “Bad Dreams” gave him plenty of opportunities to show his range, but the biggest response came with “Lose Control.” The song has become a worldwide hit, and the Vancouver audience made sure he knew it. Thousands of voices joined in, turning one of his biggest songs into a genuine arena-wide singalong.
The quieter moments were just as enjoyable. Midway through the show, Swims stepped away from the larger production for an acoustic section. Fans had been given the opportunity to request songs through a QR code before the performance, and he responded with selections that included “She Loves the Rain” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” Stripping things back gave his voice room to breathe and reminded everyone that he doesn’t need an elaborate stage setup to hold an audience’s attention.
There was plenty of crowd interaction throughout the evening, too. Swims regularly collected signs from fans and signed them while continuing to sing. Somehow, he managed to do this without losing his place or missing a beat. It was a small detail, but it said a lot about his comfort onstage. His interactions felt spontaneous rather than like another rehearsed part of the production.
That personality is what makes Swims such an entertaining performer. He can go from delivering a powerful vocal performance to joking around with the crowd in seconds. He doesn’t seem particularly interested in maintaining the distance that can come with playing a venue this size. Even at Rogers Arena, he managed to make the evening feel surprisingly personal.
His performance wasn’t short on big moments, and there were times when the production threatened to compete with the music. But the balance between the spectacle, the humour and the stripped-down performances worked. Swims has the voice to fill an arena, and the personality to make the people in it feel like they’re part of the show.
Going from the Orpheum to Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre and now Rogers Arena is a pretty good indication of how far he’s come in Vancouver. His first arena appearance felt like a natural next step, and he made the most of it.
Between the powerhouse vocals, the crowd singalongs, the unexpected theatrics and the flying hot dogs, Teddy Swims gave Vancouver a thoroughly entertaining night. If this is what his first arena show here looks like, I’d be curious to see what he has planned for the next one.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
Upcoming The Ugly Tour Dates:
November 8 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
November 10 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
November 11 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
November 13 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena San Diego
November 14 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
November 16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Mortgage Matchup Center
November 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
More information at teddyswims.com.
TEDDY SWIMS IN VANCOUVER
All Photo Credit: Raphael Arthur
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Mario Hats, R&B Hits, and Bryson Tiller – The Neo Trapsoul Tour Hits Vancouver
There was no shortage of entertainment before Bryson Tiller even stepped onstage at Rogers Arena on October 30. With Austin Millz, Ty Dolla $ign and Majid Jordan on the bill, Vancouver got a pretty generous serving of R&B and hip-hop before the headliner arrived. By the time Tiller finally took over, the crowd was ready. And judging by the number of Mario hats scattered throughout the arena, plenty of fans had come prepared for more than just the music.
The Neo Trapsoul Tour has become something of a Mario-themed party, thanks to Tiller‘s viral Halloween costume from a few years ago. The running joke has turned into a full-fledged concert challenge, with fans bringing Mario hats to Austin Millz in hopes of earning upgraded pit tickets or even backstage access from Tiller. Vancouver clearly got the memo. Mario costumes, red hats and signs could be spotted throughout the crowd, with fans hoping to catch Millz‘s attention.
The evening started with Millz behind the decks, setting the pace with an upbeat DJ set. It was his birthday, giving the Vancouver stop an extra reason to celebrate. Ty Dolla $ign followed, arriving in costume for the Halloween-eve show. His appearance brought a change of energy, leaning into the hip-hop side of the lineup with a set built around familiar hits, plenty of crowd participation, and a walk among the crowd.
Majid Jordan took things in another direction. The Toronto duo brought its atmospheric brand of R&B to Rogers Arena, offering a smoother contrast to the preceding sets. Their performance was a reminder of just how much ground the lineup covered musically. With songs like “Hold On, We’re Going Home” and “Stars Align,” the duo had no trouble getting the audience singing along.
Millz returned to the soundboard for another quick DJ set after Majid Jordan, keeping the energy up and the crowd occupied as the arena waited for Tiller.
The headliner arrived with a catalogue that has spent the better part of a decade becoming part of people’s lives. The tour celebrates the legacy of T R A P S O U L, the 2015 debut that helped establish Tiller as one of the defining voices in contemporary R&B. Its blend of hazy production, trap-influenced beats and vulnerable songwriting still feels recognizable today, even as the genre has moved through countless trends since its release.
There was plenty of material from the album, but Tiller wasn’t interested in making the night a straight anniversary performance. His set moved through different stages of his career, mixing the slower, more intimate R&B that first attracted fans with the harder-edged material from his later releases, all with a Dune-adjacent theme backed by an incredible production.
When “Don’t” arrived, the audience was ready to take over. The same happened with “Exchange,” “Could’ve Been” and “Playing Games.” These are songs that don’t need much introduction anymore. Tiller could have easily stepped back and let Rogers Arena handle the vocals, and there were moments when the crowd seemed more than happy to do exactly that.
That’s the interesting part about celebrating T R A P S O U L ten years later. For some, these songs are reminders of a particular time in their lives. For others, they’re simply great R&B records that have managed to stick around. Either way, the reaction was immediate.
Tiller‘s newer material gave the performance some necessary movement. The contrast between his soulful, slower tracks and the more aggressive production of his recent work kept the set from becoming one long nostalgia trip. His 2025 double album, Solace & The Vices, explored those two sides of his sound, with Solace leaning into R&B and The Vices taking a more rap-driven approach. That split was reflected in the concert, showing an artist who hasn’t been content to recreate the same album for the last decade.
The Mario hats added a fun bit of personality to an otherwise familiar arena concert format. It’s a small thing, but these kinds of fan-driven traditions give a tour its own identity. And with Vancouver being the second-to-last stop of the North American leg before Tiller heads to Europe in November, the crowd had plenty of reason to make the most of the night.
Ten years after T R A P S O U L introduced Bryson Tiller to the world, its songs still carry plenty of weight. The challenge for any artist with an album that influential is finding a way to celebrate it without becoming trapped by it. In Vancouver, Tiller showed he has more to offer than memories of 2015. The old songs still hit, the newer material has its place, and apparently, a Mario hat might get you closer to the stage.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
Head here for more information about Bryson Tiller – The Neo Trapsoul Tour.
BRYSON TILLER
MAJID JORDAN
TY DOLLA $IGN
AUSTIN MILLZ
FANS
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer