Concerts Reviews
Toronto Fans Sing Through the Storm with Twenty One Pilots
On September 21, 2025, the Ohio-based musical duo, Twenty One Pilots, consisting of singer/ musician, Tyler Joseph and drummer, Josh Dun, were set to play Budweiser Stage in Toronto, Canada, on their third night of The Clancy Tour: Breach. This would be their second night in Toronto.
The energy in the air was buzzing, many still living off the high of attending the concert the previous night, while others will about to experience the show for the first time. Many fans travelled for the show as well, some coming from countries in Europe, as well as Ukraine and Brazil, as the band doesn’t have plans to tour in these locations. Toronto is the only Canadian stop on the tour as well.
As fans trickled into venue grounds, it was clear that this band has a dedicated fan base. Nearly every single attendee had dressed up for the occasion, wearing outfits inspired by characters in the band’s lore, basing their outfit on an album, taping their shoulders and hands, wearing their iconic colours of red, black, yellow, and green, or simply wearing pieces of band merch. Even some staff members had bracelets to trade! You could also sense such a strong sense of community, as many fans brought small items to trade and give away, such as art pieces inspired by the band, bracelets, pins and patches, and photo cards.
Another highlight of the day was when the band’s creative/ content director, Mark C Eshleman, and photographer, Mase, came out to film content of fans. They filmed art, outfits, and fans singing along to the band’s song, “We Don’t Believe What’s on TV”, of which would be used later on in a fan video during the show.
As the gates to the venue finally opened, fans who had waited all day for the show rushed towards their seats and places in general admission, while others took the time to admire the “Bandito Camp”, set in the lawn of the venue. The lawn is where B-Stage was held, and Bandito Camp featured a couple of tents placed and decorated around the venue featuring items from their lore, such as Bandito recruitment posters, playable ukuleles, and a Toronto flag for fans to sign.
However, the stress of the night began as fans learnt that the opener, Dayglow, had their set cut due to severe storms approaching. This meant that Twenty One Pilots took to the stage at approximately 7:45, rather than their usual time of 8:45.
The concert opened with the band’s popular first single and opener to their album “Clancy”, “Overcompensate”, and the energy and volume of the crowd was unbelievable. The energy continued during the entire night, however, due to the storms, they were only able to play 16 out of their usual 28 song set. This meant that fan-favourites, such as “Heavydirtysoul”, “The Line”, and “Stressed Out” didn’t make it on the setlist for the night.
The band did not let the weather stop them from squeezing in as many songs as possible, as they performed “Tear in my Heart”, “Shy Away”, and a sparks-filled performance of “Heathens”. They also managed to play their B-Stage set, including setting a car on fire during a couple of the songs, and performed with fans who dressed up as their character “Ned” when they played “Chlorine”.
During a moment in the show, the drummer, Josh Dun, playing his role as “Torchbearer”, lit a torch from the flaming car, and picked up the flag from the Bandito Camp, which fans were able to sign, and attached it to a flagpole. He carried the flag and torch through the venue back to the main stage, where a curtain dropped to reveal the city of Dema, representing a very critical moment in the band’s lore.
They also had pyro during “Jumpsuit”, played their radio hit, “Ride”, and played their iconic closer song, “Trees”, while standing on a platform held by the crowd as confetti rained down.
Although fans were disappointed by the outcome of the night, they tried to make the most of it by leaving the venue singing songs from the band, and dancing outside with one another in the rain. Although sad, many were very grateful that the band chose to play at all, rather than cancel the show entirely.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
Upcoming Tour Dates:
Wed, Sep 24 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Sat, Sep 27 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Sun, Sep 28 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Tue, Sep 30 – Hartford, CT – Xfinity Theatre
Wed, Oct 01 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
Sat, Oct 04 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Sun, Oct 05 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Tue, Oct 07 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Wed, Oct 08 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Fri, Oct 10 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sat, Oct 11 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tue, Oct 14 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater
Wed, Oct 15 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Fri, Oct 17 – Birmingham, AL – Coca-Cola Amphitheater
Sun, Oct 19 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Mon, Oct 20 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Thu, Oct 23 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sat, Oct 25 – Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium
Tickets and info at twentyonepilots.com/tour
TWENTY ONE PILOTS
All Photo Credit: Ashley Bellam
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
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Brandi Carlile Brings the Human Touch to Rogers Arena in Vancouver
Brandi Carlile may be playing the biggest rooms of her career, but she has no interest in letting the size of the room dictate the size of the show.
At Rogers Arena in Vancouver on September 17, Carlile turned the last stop of The Human Tour’s Canadian run into something that felt surprisingly personal. The arena was full, the production was appropriately large, and her voice could probably have rattled the rafters without a microphone. Still, the moments that stuck were often the quiet ones.
That has always been one of Carlile’s best tricks. She can sing like someone has opened a trapdoor beneath her, then spend five minutes telling a story about her wife, her kids or something ridiculous that happened backstage. The shift never feels forced and it is part of what makes her concerts work.
The night opened with CMAT, whose sharp mix of country, pop and deadpan humour made for a welcome change of pace before Carlile took the stage. Then came “Returning to Myself,” the title track from her 2025 album, with Carlile immediately putting that famously elastic voice front and centre. “Human” followed, and the combination of the two songs established the emotional centre of the night early: this was a show about vulnerability, but Carlile was never interested in making it precious.
The set moved freely between her newer material and songs that have become career staples. “Mainstream Kid” brought the rock-show energy, “You Without Me” and “The Mother” pulled things back into something tender and deeply personal, and “Right on Time” delivered the kind of vocal performance that makes you wonder how she is going to top it before remembering she still has two hours left.
Her longtime collaborators Phil and Tim Hanseroth were beside her throughout, and their history with Carlile is a huge part of the show’s warmth. The trio has been playing together for more than two decades, and that familiarity shows. They can make an arena performance feel like three musicians in a room working out a song together.
Carlile leaned into that idea with an audience-request segment, inviting fans to call out songs for her and the Hanseroth twins to attempt on the spot. There is something wonderfully reckless about watching musicians of this calibre debate chords and lyrics in front of thousands of people. It should feel like a gimmick, but instead, it works. “My Song” and “This Time Tomorrow” were the chosen requests and both were a big hit.
Carlile has spoken throughout The Human Tour about the challenge of playing rooms this large. Vancouver was no different. She seemed genuinely determined to shrink Rogers Arena down to something more manageable, and the audience happily played along. The arena crowd became less like an anonymous mass and more like a room full of people who happened to know all the words.
Carlile would then remind everyone just how enormous her voice is. “The Story” remains the obvious example. The 2007 song has spent nearly two decades proving that its emotional punch does not depend on nostalgia, and live, Carlile still takes it from a restrained opening into a full-throated release. “The Joke” landed with similar force, its gospel-inflected arrangement turning Rogers Arena into something closer to a revival than a hockey rink.
The newer “Church & State” provided another major gear shift, bringing a harder edge to the performance and giving Carlile a chance to lean into the rock side of her catalogue. “Sinners, Saints and Fools” followed that same path, building from a reflective song into a full-band crescendo.
That variety is what makes a Carlile set work. She can move from intimate folk storytelling to arena rock without making either side feel like a costume. There is room for the big voice, the jokes (her obsession with Celine Dion landed very well on this Canadian date), the family stories, the politics, the covers and the moments where everything drops away except Carlile and a guitar.
Vancouver also got one of the evening’s most meaningful cover songs when Carlile delivered a stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.” Given Mitchell’s deep Canadian roots and enduring status as one of the country’s most beloved songwriters, the choice felt especially fitting for the final Canadian stop of the tour. Carlile has long spoken about Mitchell’s influence on her own songwriting, and rather than treating the song as a reverent tribute piece, she approached it with warmth and conviction, allowing its emotional complexity to shine through. The audience responded accordingly, greeting the opening lines with immediate recognition.
The encore kept that balance intact. She brought CMAT on stage for an incredible rendition of the Bee Gee’s “Islands In The Stream.” Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” gave Carlile a darker, more theatrical showcase, while the final stretch brought the room back together with “Hold Out Your Hand.”
For all the talk about arena tours being a sign of an artist getting bigger, Carlile seems more interested in making the audience feel closer. That is a harder trick than filling a room. Rogers Arena is built to make people feel small. Brandi Carlile spent the night doing the opposite.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
BRANDI CARLILE
CMAT
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer