By 9 PM, Le Bon (draped in a loose, diaphanous white outfit) stepped into the light with quiet authority. She played until nearly 10:30 pm, leaning heavily on her latest, critically acclaimed album Michelangelo Dying. Standouts included “Is It Worth It (Happy Birthday)?,” “Love Unrehearsed,” and “I Know What’s Nice”.

What struck me most was how her body of work, ranging from the angular, off‑kilter pop of Crab Day to the lush, wistful palette of her recent material, folded together effortlessly onstage. The band, anchored by longtime collaborators including Euan Hinshelwood on saxophone, played with a kind of instinctive alignment. Their exchanges opened up unexpected detours in the songs, especially during the more entrancing stretches where synths, guitar, and saxophone dissolved into a single, shifting swell.

The truth is Le Bon’s live world remains unmistakable, an otherworldly ambience that drifts between performance art and something like a seance. The stage design echoed the album’s sensibility too: fabric draped over mic stands and instruments, muting the room into a subtly surreal environment, as though the band were performing inside a dream half‑formed.

For all the avant‑garde cool, Le Bon herself seemed visibly moved by the crowd’s response, pausing to say there was nowhere she’d rather be. Toronto fans answered back with smiles and cheers.

By the end, the evening felt less like a conventional tour stop and more like a temporary passage into her own sonic journey. A place where music and love coexist, and where even a bitter January night seemed the warmest place in the city.

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Possessing big sound inside such a big venue, the band’s booming synths echoed mightily amid a sold-out crowd while lead singer Nicholas Allbrook showcased his best Mick Jagger moves, occasionally sashaying his way through the crowd.

The quintet, forever linked to like-minded countrymen Tame Impala, are certainly their own thing. Whereas the former pursues sonic transcendence, Pond remains less experimental, grabbing one by the collar with charisma.

Opening with the hard-hitting beats of “(I’m) Stung,” taken from their newly released album Stung!, fans were soon treated to “Neon River,” another album cut outfitted with a chorus of scratchy guitars and oscillating electronic warbles.

Members Shiny Joe Ryan on guitar, Jamie Terry on synths, bassist Jay ‘Gum’ Watson, and drummer James Ireland all performed impeccably tight and harmonious together, enjoying playing second fiddle to Allbrook’s boundless hijinks.

Equipped with an urgent falsetto, he belted out their biggest single “Paint Me Silver,” which evidently incited everyone at the Danforth to sing and dance along.

Synth-drenched notes and soaring fuzzed-out guitars, Pond’s 90-minute set grooved and moved, tossing tunes ranging from rock stompers to hypnotic ballads. It delighted fans old and new, anchored by a frontman on the top of his game determined to take fans on the ultimate trip.

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Having released her latest album over two months ago, it was clear from the Toronto crowd, a majority congregated on the main floor, that everyone was well acquainted beyond the singles. However, Waxahatchee played nothing released before 2020, which surely disappointed diehards who had been following Crutchfield’s beginnings during her formative, Cerulean Salt era.

Nevertheless, albums such as 2020’s Saint Cloud got plenty of love during the evening, often reinforced by Crutchfield’s bond to the South during songs like “Can’t Do Much” where her voice seemed more pronounced. Elsewhere, tracks like “Lilac” felt like an anthemic highlight of the night that found her band settling in after launching their tour mere days beforehand in Kansas City.

Using her unique knack for phrasing and lyrics to re-invent alt-country for new listeners, the Alabama native brought the evening’s tempo up a notch with “Right Back To It,” which featured guitarist Clay Frankel faithfully performing the harmony MJ Lenderman put on record. “When I dreamed of someday being a singer, this is what I was going to see,” Crutchfield told Toronto attendees after performing the album’s lead single inside Massey Hall’s impressive gilded interior.

Crutchfield isn’t a torch singer, but her drawl is incredibly honest. The ever-so-subtle gravel she applies in some of her songs makes it clear she’s lived through them. Luckily, this iteration of Waxahatchee feels undeniably in tune and organic. It’s something of a welcome ray of light in what’s surely been a road to recovery after coming to grips with her detailed alcohol addiction and subsequent tour burnout of the past.

Either way, the overall effect made the Waxahatchee songs seem more intimate, impactful, with a hint of laid-back energy. By definition, that’s what Americana music is and should be.

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Opening for Paramore, the multi-faceted musician showed off his ability to stay versatile across a swath of genres as low-end hip-hop beats rumbled. Even more startling was the accompaniment of his “goons” – onstage dancers shackled and masked with balaclavas.

Lock-step in army-march choreography, Owusu and his crew created a distinct physicality of freeze-frame posturing. Throughout the 30-minute set, their bodies contorted at varying intervals of passion and expression, sometimes even enmeshing into one.

As for the music, deranged breakbeats and glossy RnB collided on tracks such as “Waitin’ on Ya” while the fiery-funk-post-punk groove of “Void” bristled with intensity.

Showing no sign of fatigue, even as things began to wind down, Owusu spent the remainder of his performance prowling both sides of the stage without missing a step. And it certainly showed.

As one of Australia’s most inventive musical artists, his presence brought out massive applause from attendees, steadily raising the temperature for the remainder of the night.

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Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, the motley sextet delivered a visceral performance from start to finish. For fans, hungry for a snack of something unhinged, they got what they came looking for. Moshing, crowd surfing, drenched-in-sweat, you name it.

During one of their newest songs, “Troglodyte”, tattooed lead singer Sebastian Murphy prowled the stage against a steadfast, monster groove. Pulsating inside the walls of the venue, it’s here when the controlled chaos truly began.

In playing with the fortitude that each song required, every member of Viagra Boys sounded uncommonly talented while being remarkably loose.

Running just under two hours, the concert featured a setlist packed with songs from their latest record, Cave World, while serving up beloved older tracks like “Worms” and “Ain’t Nice”.

Yet, no matter how unwieldy their music got throughout the night, it never lost its sense of fun. Chalk it up to their Scandinavian style. That, and Sebastian Murphy’s alcohol-fuelled stamina has to be seen to be believed.

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Inside, lighting up The Axis Club in blues, pinks, and purples, English model-actress-singer Suki Waterhouse transformed the stage into her very own world — albeit with hundreds of people watching.

Currently, on her Coolest Place in the World Tour the London-based performer, accompanied by her explosive band of drums, bass, and a guitar, spent the majority of the set playing songs from her 2022 EPs, Milk Teeth and I Can’t Let Go.

Wearing a sweet smile, Waterhouse’s material nevertheless oozed melodrama in varying shades, particularly on tracks including “Moves”, “The Devil I Know,” and “Neon Signs”. Yet, even during her most melancholic numbers, she glided and bounced with hands gracefully waving above her head, teasing the audience with a certain starry-eyed glamour.

Earlier on, as the night’s hyped opening act, Blondshell (Sabrina Teitelbaum) exemplified why she’s primed to take on the indie rock world. Having only released a handful of singles, with a soon-to-be-released debut forthcoming, the 20-something brought a powerful and transformative performance to the Toronto audience.

With bleached curls overflowing and a Guns and Roses tee torn and frayed, her presence was reminiscent of the cool girl in high school.  Looks aside, songs such as “Olympus” offered up a glimpse of a Gen Z-er navigating sex and sobriety under the guise of catchy alt-pop music.

In the end, it was a show that proved Suki Waterhouse and Blondshell have the charisma to connect with audiences through their music and striking stage personalities. A winning combination and a bright future ahead for both shining artists.

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