Concerts Reviews
Papa Roach Open Their Canadian Run with Fire and Feeling
Papa Roach kicked off the Canadian leg of their Rise of the Roach Tour in Vancouver on November 25, and the timing couldn’t have been better. The band has been back in the headlines this year thanks to the 25th anniversary of Infest and the excitement around their new material, including Even If It Kills Me. The tour marks their first full cross-Canada run in more than a decade, and they opened the whole thing at Rogers Arena with the confidence of a band that never really left the spotlight.
Before the headliners stormed the stage, Sleep Theory warmed up the arena with a sleek, modern rock set that had the early crowd fired up. The Used followed and pulled everyone straight into their orbit. Their fans showed up loud, many wearing The Used merch from previous shows. By the time they finished, the room was ready for whatever chaos Papa Roach had planned.
And they definitely had a plan.
Instead of easing into things, Papa Roach went for a full jumpscare. The house lights dropped, a massive curtain crashed down, and the band exploded into “Even If It Kills Me.” The pyro blasted, CO₂ shot into high, and the video walls behind them stitched together moody visuals that felt like a short film. It was bold and theatrical in a way that fits them now.
Early on, Jacoby Shaddix made it clear he came to meet people. He climbed off the stage and went straight into the crowd, strolling through the lower bowl seats and singing inches from fans.
The middle of the set leaned into their emotional side. During “Falling Apart,” Shaddix talked openly about his history with suicidal thoughts and why speaking about mental health matters so much to him. It wasn’t preachy ; it felt like a human being leveling with a full arena. A short video on the screens followed, highlighting the Canadian phone line for suicide prevention. When the lights dimmed and Shaddix asked the crowd to raise their phone lights for “Leave a Light On (Talk Away the Dark),” the whole floor glowed white. It looked like a vigil. This band can swing from chaos to connection in seconds, and it always hits hard.
Of course, the chaos returned fast. “Scars,” “BRAINDEAD,” and “Help” hit back-to-back, and Shaddix even ran deep into the stands again for “Help,” popping up in a section nobody expected. The crowd surfing picked up, the circle pit spun every time he yelled for one, and the band leaned into the fun.
For the encore, “Between Angels and Insects” and “Infest” took fans straight back to the early 2000s and Jacoby went back into the crowd. Then came the showstopper: the “Nu Metal Time Machine” medley. They ripped pieces of Deftones’ “My Own Summer (Shove It),” Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff,” and System Of A Down’s “Chop Suey,” all stitched together. The crowd turned into a single hive mind: shouting every lyric, fists up, bodies bouncing.
And then, obviously, “Last Resort” where the arena shook like someone kicked the floor out from under it.
Papa Roach’s reputation has shifted over the years, but seeing them live explains exactly why they’ve lasted. They’re workhorses. They care about the crowd. They don’t phone anything in, even on a Tuesday night. The show had layers of fun, nostalgia, grief, celebration, and it all felt honest.
If the rest of the Canadian dates keep this pace, the tour is going to stay loud all the way to Halifax. “Divorced dad rock” jokes aside, the night ruled. The Roach still bites.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
Dec 02 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
Dec 05 – Toronto, ON – Coca-Cola Coliseum
Dec 06 – Kitchener, ON – The Aud
Dec 08 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
Dec 10 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre
More information on the band’s website.
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: AC/DC – Hell’s Still Bellin’
AC/DC. Christ. What’s left to say? Everything’s been said, screamed, tattooed on someone’s bicep already. Doesn’t matter. That’s the whole racket, they never changed, never blinked, and more than fifty years later they’re still the loudest gang in the room.
Growing up, they felt ancient already. I am a 2001 kid. Turns out the joke’s on me: they’re still out there, riffing like it’s ’79, refusing to retire into legend status.
Princess Auto Stadium was packed with about 35000 attendees. Everyone was wearing red twinkling devil’s horns. To warm up the night, The Pretty Reckless started with one of the hits “Death by Rock and Roll.” Some support acts play like they’re grateful for the slot. Taylor Momsen played like she owns the stadium. The hair falling forward, somehow the less you can see of her face the more magnetic she gets. Stage presence isn’t something you learn. She’s just got it.
The band didn’t sound like an opener. Every riff landed with the swagger “Going To Hell” and “Since You’re Gone” kept it burning, and “About You” brought it down to something rawer before the lights cut. By the time The Pretty Reckless walked off, the audience were already screaming AC/DC! AC/DC!
Winnipeggers stood stunned through AC/DC‘s whole set. Angus Young, 71 years old still in that signature blue schoolboy uniform and yellow-and-blue cap, ran wild across the stage, duck-walking like no time had passed at all, genuinely, a dream come true to watch in person.
Meanwhile, the rest of the band, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Matt Laug stayed largely in the background, keeping the engine running for Angus and Johnson to tear apart.
The production matched the legend, “Hells Bells” arrived with an actual giant bell hanging over the stage. The setlist ran deep: “Thunderstruck,” “Have a Drink on Me,” “Shot in the Dark,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” “Highway to Hell,” “Jailbreak,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Almost every song sounded just as good as the album version. The crowd tore their vocal cords apart singing along to “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “TNT.” “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” closed things out with cannons blasting into the night sky.
The house lights came up and nobody moved right away. Smoke still hanging over the stage, ears ringing, horns still lit up red across the stands. Bands this old aren’t supposed to sound this dangerous. They aren’t supposed to still mean it. But AC/DC never got the memo about slowing down, and honestly, thank God for that. I walked out hoarse, deaf, and completely satisfied.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
AC/DC
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
All Photo Credit: Nischal Karki
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Party On, Vancouver: Dogstar Sells Out the Vogue Theatre
The Vogue Theatre was packed wall to wall on September 16 as Dogstar rolled into Vancouver, and the excitement was impossible to miss. New York rock band The Backfires kicked things off with a lively opening set, warming up the room before Bret Domrose, Robert Mailhouse and Keanu Reeves stepped onto the stage. Naturally, hundreds of phones immediately went up when Reeves appeared, because Vancouver was not about to let this extremely Keanu moment go undocumented.
Reeves held down the bass, Domrose took on guitar and vocals, and Mailhouse powered the night from behind the drums. While one member may come with a little more star power, Dogstar quickly felt like a proper three-piece instead of a celebrity side project. The chemistry between them was relaxed and natural, with plenty of smiles, glances and little interactions that made it clear they were genuinely happy to be playing together. Reeves frequently wandered across the stage to jam alongside his bandmates, occasionally making his way toward the front and sending another wave of phones into the air.
Dogstar’s story stretches back to Los Angeles in 1991, when Reeves and Mailhouse first started making music together. Domrose later joined the band, and the trio released two albums before going their separate ways in 2002. More than two decades later, they reunited, returned to the stage and released Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees in 2023. Now, with their latest album All In Now and another tour underway, Dogstar are giving this chapter of the band far more than a quick nostalgia lap.
The set began with “Siren,” immediately setting an easygoing alt-rock tone for the night. Their cover of The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” brought an extra burst of familiarity, while “Punch the Sky” landed with the kind of energy made for a full theatre. Rather than pausing for long speeches, the band kept things moving, letting the music and their chemistry do most of the talking. Domrose’s vocals stayed at the centre of the songs, Mailhouse gave them plenty of drive, and Reeves appeared completely locked into the groove on bass.
Yes, people cheered whenever Reeves moved closer to the edge of the stage. Yes, there was an undeniable thrill in seeing the internet’s favourite human casually rocking out a few feet away. But the attention did not stay on him alone. Domrose and Mailhouse were just as essential to the show, and together the trio delivered a performance that felt tight without becoming overly polished. There was still room for the songs to breathe, for the band to play off one another and for the night to feel a little spontaneous.
A fun surprise arrived during the encore with a roaring cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.” The band shared that they had only performed it live once before, making it a particularly unexpected way to close the night. The Vogue responded accordingly, singing, cheering and soaking up every last second before the trio left the stage.
More than 30 years after forming, and over two decades after calling it quits, Dogstar are back on the road and clearly having a great time together. That sense of fun was infectious, turning the sold-out show into something warmer and more memorable than a simple celebrity sighting. Vancouver may have arrived ready to see Keanu Reeves play bass, but by the end of the night, Dogstar had given the crowd plenty of reasons to stay invested in the whole band.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
DOGSTAR
THE BACKFIRES
All Photo Credit: Heather Horncastle