MUSIC

Marianas Trench at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre – July 12, 2013

Photographs by Katrina Wong Shue

After almost a year of waiting, Marianas Trench finally graced Toronto with their ‘Face The Music With A Vengeance’ tour. This time around it was a little more special, as it was the band’s first time performing a headlining show at a venue as big Molson Ampitheatre in Toronto. As the night started, lead singer Josh Ramsay came out of a jack in the box, which was set up behind their drummer Ian Cassleman. They opened with Ever After, which is the title track off of their latest full length, and then dove straight into some of their older and more upbeat songs such as ‘All To Myself’ and ‘Shake Tramp’.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when I saw the production for this leg of the tour, as I had been fortunate enough to catch the first leg in Oshawa late last year. During the first leg, the toy blocks on stage were bigger, Ramsay showed fans his acrobatic skills as he performed songs suspended above the crowd, & they had multiple costume changes – even performing ‘Desperate Measures’ in their boxers, just like the music video. It was surprising to see that they didn’t bring out the same production for a place like Toronto and without it; it felt like the films they played between acts were a bit choppy and out of place. But by the energy level of all the fans in the audience it was very evident that everyone was having a ball. Ramsay really knows how to get the party started as he ran through the seated fans multiple times during the set, crowd surfed and even hopped onto the barricade to sing a few songs. It was really nice to see parents bringing their younger kids out to this show and dancing with them during the set. I tend to find that when parents attend concerts with their kids, a lot of them are just standing around looking bored, so it was really nice to see that Marianas Trench was able to bring out all the smiling faces and dance moves from their older crowd.

One thing to note about Marianas Trench’s live performances is that they switch up instruments during ‘Truth or Dare’, when the song starts off everyone is on a different set of drums and Cassleman comes out from behind the set as Ramsay takes over his. Also, all the backing vocals from guitarist Matt Webb, bassist Mike Ayley and Cassleman, sound even more beautiful live, complementing Ramsay’s voice.

As the night progressed Ramsay apologized for the tour not hitting Toronto sooner, and informed the fans that the show was originally scheduled for the Air Canada Centre but plans fell through when the NHL came off of their strike. He also mentioned that in 2009, he came to the Molson Ampitheatre to see Katy Perry perform and had always wanted to perform at the venue. It was nice to see how genuine he was with the crowd as he told his stories and thanked everyone for coming out to the show.

Nonetheless, it’s always a blast seeing Marianas Trench live. Their catchy tunes has a way of making any and everyone get up from their seats to sing along, and to top it off they always find ways to have a lot of interaction with their audience.

Thanks to Live Nation.

About author

Katrina is the Chief Editor at Live in Limbo. She enjoys photographing concerts, travelling to see her favourite bands, and testing out the latest cosmetics. You can follow her adventures over on Instagram: @thewanderingkatx || @k.wsphotography Contact Kat at katrina@liveinlimbo.com