Concerts Photos
Coheed and Cambria Bring “This Is Our War” to Ottawa
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa – July 14, 2026
There’s a particular kind of chaos that follows Coheed and Cambria into a room, and Ottawa got the full dose of it on a Tuesday night that felt more like a Saturday. Twenty-plus years into their run, and still touring behind last year’s Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe, the New York prog-rock lifers proved once again that a good story and a great riff are not mutually exclusive.
The Openers: Cevilain Own Their Hometown Stage
Before the headliners even hit the stage, the local crowd already had something to cheer for. Cevilain, Ottawa’s own, got the rare hometown-opener treatment, and they didn’t waste it. Tight, loud, and relishing the size of the room, the band tore through a set that had the front rows moving well before Coheed‘s set change. There’s something different about watching a band play in their own city, and that energy was written all over the performance.
The Headliners: Hair, Harmonics, and the Keywork
By the time the house lights dropped, the room was packed shoulder to shoulder. Claudio Sanchez took the stage exactly as fans expect him to, guitar slung low and hair a wall of curls.
The production leaned hard into the band’s sci-fi mythology, with the “keywork” logo splashed across the backdrop in shifting reds, blues, and greens throughout the night. Sanchez spent as much time airborne, leaping, crouching, and prowling the lip of the stage, as he did locked into the fretboard, and the rest of the band matched the intensity beat for beat. The rhythm section anchored the heavier cuts while the guitar work carried the band’s trademark blend of melodic hooks and progressive sprawl.
Between songs, the crowd took over almost as much as the band did, fists in the air, singalongs on the choruses, and no shortage of phones raised to catch a moment.
The Takeaway
For a band this deep into a catalog built on interlocking concept albums, Coheed and Cambria‘s live show still manages to feel less like a history lesson and more like a release valve. Ottawa showed up ready to shout every word back, Cevilain proved a hometown opening slot is nothing to waste, and by the time the last chord rang out, it was clear this stop on the This Is Our War tour earned its place in the run.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
COHEED AND CAMBRIA
CEVILIAN
All Photo Credit: Kieran Delport
Concerts Photos
Only The Poets Bring ‘And I’d Do It Again’ Tour to L’Alhambra in Paris
Only The Poets brought their electric energy to Paris last Wednesday, stopping at L’Alhambra as part of their And I’d Do It Again tour. Following the release of their latest album earlier this year, the show offered fans the perfect chance to sing along to the songs that had soundtracked their entire year.
The venue was packed, the atmosphere vibrant from start to finish. Between lyrics, smiles were shared across the room, and cheers rose with every chorus. The energy was electric.
Originally from Reading, England, the band delivered a sound that blends rock and indie influences with a distinct 80s inspired sound, all wrapped in a style that feels entirely their own. Their live performance translated that identity perfectly, balancing raw energy with melodic hooks that had the crowd singing every word.
The set ran just over an hour, closing on the chords of “Emotional”, a fitting end to a beautiful night shared with them.
Check out our favorite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
ONLY THE POETS
All Photo Credit: Jessica Camil
Concerts Photos
Foster The People Bring ‘Good Mourning Sunshine’ Tour to the Freedom Mobile Arch in Vancouver
There was something fitting about Foster the People bringing their Good Mourning Sunshine tour to Vancouver on September 15. The band’s latest live show starts with the promise of a perfect 1950s-inspired world, then slowly tears that picture apart. By the end of the night at the Freedom Mobile Arch, the whole thing had become a colourful psychedelic fever dream.
Led by Mark Foster, the band moved easily between the disco and synth-funk sounds of Paradise State of Mind, the indie-pop songs that first made them stars, and sharper catalogue cuts like “Lotus Eater.” It could have felt disjointed, but the set worked as a look at just how much Foster the People have changed since “Pumped Up Kicks” first took over the radio.
The production did plenty of heavy lifting. What began as a polished, almost too-perfect visual world gradually became stranger and more distorted as the show progressed. The shift gave the newer material a strong identity live, turning the concert into something that felt like it had an actual storyline rather than simply moving from song to song.
Still, the older hits were never far from the crowd’s mind. “Sit Next to Me” had the audience singing along, setting up the inevitable closing moment. “Pumped Up Kicks” brought the night home, with thousands of voices joining in on its instantly recognizable whistle.
Forster the People have plenty of history to lean on, but Vancouver’s show made a case for looking ahead as the new material gives them somewhere else to go.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
FOSTER THE PEOPLE
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer