Concerts Reviews
Still Loud, Still Raw: Jet Takes Off in Montreal
It was a very different world the last time the Aussie band Jet played in Montreal. I, for one, was living in Mexico in the late 2000s, just preparing to go to college, my life constantly changing as I went through the motions of growing up. One constant? My first-gen iPod, always plugged into my ears, with Jet on heavy rotation.
Now, 20 years later, they finally returned to the city ahead of their first album release since 2009.
Opening the show was Band of Skulls from England, a true heavy hitter who more than warmed up the crowd. The English band, also formed in the early 2000s, is currently helmed by Russell Marsden. Their grungy garage rock was the perfect way to kick off a night full of heavy riffs and raspy vocals. They played to a quickly filling venue, treating the audience to fan favourites like “Sweet Sour” and “Something.”
Personally, I was especially enthralled by Marsden’s performance. He headbanged through riffs, darted across the stage, and rarely interacted with the crowd, not in a bad way though. You could see how lost he gets in his own world while playing music, and that kind of immersion radiated energy that was truly something to behold. It was my first time seeing them live and I enjoyed it so much that I went straight to the merch booth after their set.
At 9:00 PM, the P.A. music cut out and the Olympia crowd erupted, horn signs in the air, as the Australian natives walked onto the stage, each with a big smile. Last on was Nic Cester, rocking a white shirt, black-and-white striped pants, and brown boots to match his iconic Gibson guitar. He strolled to center stage, lowball glass in hand (likely whiskey), took a sip, put it down, picked up his guitar, and kicked off the set with Get Born’s opener: the iconic “Last Chance.”
Heavy riffs filled the venue alongside Cester’s signature raspy vocals. It was genuinely stunning how sharp and powerful he sounded, more than 20 years after the album’s release. Next came “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” from their second album Shine On, a song that starts slow and builds toward a ferocious, howling chorus.
The night roared on with “She’s a Genius” and “Get What You Need.” The band was incredibly tight, clearly seasoned pros delivering pure rock and roll with every beat, riff, and bassline. About halfway through, they played my personal favourite, “Black Hearts (On Fire).” The chorus explodes with raw power. Back in 2010, this was my alarm clock song. I needed that punch to wake up after too many drinks and a 7 a.m. class. Hearing it live was surreal. By the time the last riff rang out, I thought, Anything else from here is just gravy.
After a few more songs from Get Born, the pace slowed down with the anthemic “Bring It On Back,” followed by the ballad “Look What You’ve Done,” a song about emotional pain and betrayal. It showcased the band’s range beyond their usual grungy sound.
But just in case we forgot this was a rock show, they launched into their most famous song: “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” Back in 2006, this song was everywhere: radio, MP3 players, TV. The crowd responded accordingly.
Before heading offstage, they closed the main set with the explosive “Cold Hard Bitch,” another fan favourite that had the entire room shouting every word alongside Cester. After a short break, he returned alone to address the crowd.
He thanked everyone for spending the night with them after two decades away from Montreal. “We owe it all to you. Thank you. We love you,” he said, before performing a gorgeous acoustic version of “Shine On.”
He followed with a more bluesy acoustic number, “Move On,” also from Get Born. Midway through, the band rejoined him, adding texture as Cameron Muncey layered in electric guitar flourishes and Mark Wilson played the harmonica.
Finally, to cap off the night, they gave us one last song, a cover of AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll).” It was the perfect send-off for a set that had been 20 years in the making.
It was truly special to witness one of the great rock bands of the early 2000s, from the same era when The White Stripes, The Vines, and The Hives ruled the indie rock world. Jet had been a “bucket list band” for me, one I never thought I’d get to cross off.
Here’s to not waiting another 20 years to see them again.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
JET
BAND OF SKULLS
All Photo Credit: Andres Amaya
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: The Red Clay Strays Bring the Grateful Tour to Rogers Arena
The Red Clay Strays brought their Grateful Tour to Vancouver on August 30, supported by Wyatt Flores and Sweet Talk. I’ll admit it: before Sunday night, my familiarity with The Red Clay Strays went about as far as “Wondering Why.”
I knew the Alabama band had become one of the fastest-rising names in country and Southern rock, and I knew Brandon Coleman had a reputation for being the kind of frontman people compared to Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and just about every other cool guy to ever stand behind a microphone. But there is always a risk when walking into a show knowing only the hit. Sometimes you spend the night waiting for the one song you recognize, but that was not the case at Rogers Arena.
Sweet Talk and Wyatt Flores got things going, giving the night a strong foundation before the headliners took over. Flores, in particular, already had plenty of fans in the building, and his set helped get the arena moving early. By the time The Red Clay Strays walked onstage, the room was ready.
The band opened with “Demons in Your Choir,” immediately showing why its sound has connected with so many people. The Red Clay Strays do not sit comfortably inside one genre. There is country in their music, obviously, but there is Southern rock, gospel, blues and plenty of old-school rock and roll mixed in. Trying to neatly categorize them feels a little beside the point.
What stood out most to me was how little the band seemed interested in playing up the scale of the room. 18 months ago, they were playing 2 sold out shows at the Commodore Ballroom, making the jump to Rogers Arena in 2026 pretty striking. Rogers Arena is a massive space, and this is the biggest kind of stage The Red Clay Strays have started playing regularly. But they never felt like they were trying to become a generic arena band overnight.
Of course, Coleman is hard to ignore. The Elvis comparisons make sense on a surface level: the pompadour, the old-school style and the way he moves around the stage all bring those comparisons to mind. But the more I watched him, the less useful those comparisons became. Coleman has his own way of commanding a stage, and his voice is the real deal.
There were several moments throughout the night when he let loose on a note and cut through everything around him. It was not polished in a way that felt overly perfect, either. There was grit in his voice, and sometimes a little roughness, which made the stronger moments hit harder.
The band moved through songs including “Stone’s Throw,” “Walking Away,” “Devil in My Ear,” “Ghosts” and “People Hatin’,” with the musicians remaining impressively tight throughout. They have reportedly been playing together in one form or another for years, and that connection was easy to see.
When it was time for “Wondering Why,” Rogers Arena predictably lost its mind. The opening moments were enough to turn the audience into one enormous singalong, and one of those goosebump moments. Even as someone who came into the show with limited knowledge of the band’s catalog, I could not help but get caught up in it. Thankfully, the show did not lose momentum after its biggest song. In fact, I found some of the strongest material came later.
“Drowning” and “I’m Still Fine” gave Coleman some of his best vocal moments of the night, while “Moments” slowed things down without killing the energy. That is not always easy in an arena show. The quieter songs can sometimes disappear in a room that size, but the audience stayed with them.
One of the evening’s most memorable moments came before the band launched back into the set when one of their three touring backing vocalists stepped forward to sing “O Canada.” She told the crowd that she regularly performs national anthems at NHL games and had always hoped to sing Canada’s anthem in Canada. The Rogers crowd loved it.
They ended with “Fool’s Gold,” “Wanna Be Loved,” “Grateful” and “No One Else Like Me,” sending the crowd home after a generous and well-paced set.
The Red Clay Strays are clearly in the middle of a major rise. Their Grateful Tour has taken them into some of the biggest venues of their career, and the rooms will probably keep getting bigger. The good news, at least based on what I saw in Vancouver, is that they have not lost the thing that got them here.
Head here for more information about The Red Clay Strays’ Grateful Tour.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
THE RED CLAY STRAYS
WYATT FLORES
SWEET TALK
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Luke Bryan Turns a Thursday Night in Ottawa Into a Country Party
People were already dancing and cheering as they walked to the line at the Canadian Tire Centre. That was probably the first sign that Luke Bryan’s Word On The Street Tour stop in Ottawa wasn’t going to feel much like a Thursday night.
Drew Baldridge got the night started while the arena was just starting to see people on their seats, but you wouldn’t have known it from watching him. He and his band played like the seats were already full. Covering Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” was also a pretty foolproof way to get an Ottawa crowd warmed up.
Lauren Watkins came next. Cowboy hats were becoming harder to avoid, people were starting to groove, and the arena was noticeably filling up. Like Baldridge before her, Watkins wasn’t trying to reinvent country music. She was there to celebrate it.
Then Lanie Gardner came flying out in sunglasses with a band that looked like they had collectively decided it was still 1993, and it worked. They hit hard from the start, and Gardner had the advantage of playing to an arena that was now getting close to what it would look like for the headliner. People were louder, drinks were flowing, and it finally felt like Luke Bryan was next.
Except he wasn’t. Not quite yet. Bryan was a little late getting onstage, so a DJ was tasked with keeping a packed Canadian Tire Centre entertained. Instead of killing the momentum, it turned the wait into its own little party. By the time the lights finally went down, people were more than ready.
And when he finally came out, the noise was unreal. The Canadian Tire Centre looked packed. For a Thursday night in Ottawa, that alone was impressive. When Bryan started playing, everyone in the building seemingly knew every word. That’s the difference between knowing someone has a lot of hits and actually seeing what those hits do to an arena.
Bryan has been one of the biggest country artists of his generation for long enough that these songs belong to his audience almost as much as they belong to him. There were moments where he could have stopped singing entirely and the show probably wouldn’t have missed a word.
The band deserves just as much credit for how good the night sounded. Everyone on that stage could play. The guitars were huge, the rhythm section hit hard, and the banjo or slide guitar rang through the entire arena in a way that was impossible to ignore.
Nothing about the show needed to be complicated. Luke Bryan showed up with a killer band, a ridiculous number of songs people knew by heart, and an arena full of fans who wanted to party. Sometimes that’s enough.
Actually, judging by the noise inside the Canadian Tire Centre, it was more than enough.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
LUKE BRYAN
LANIE GARDNER
LAUREN WATKINS
DREW BALDRIDGE
All Photo Credit: Gonzo Wassermann