Photographs by Olivia Leung.
The Birthday Massacre are a Toronto band that loves their city. It’s clear that they have a lot of fun in their home town, and we get an exciting show in return. The band came out after some of their instrumental interludes proceeded their set, and from there on, everything was about enjoying ourselves. The band was in their black uniform attire and dripping “blood” as usual, but they were anything but grim; They were all smiles. Everyone bounced around the stage and even crept onto their instruments (those who could). If they are always this intense, I’d be highly impressed, but I have a feeling the band just felt like proving that they are one of the biggest Toronto-loving groups.
Chibi repeatedly pointed at people in the crowd and called them out. This may not be an instance of her simply knowing fellow Torontonians, but maybe this had to do with The Birthday Massacre’s cult fan base. Chibi is a frequent user of social media, and she brought her love for getting to know fans live. She grabbed the hands of the guests, she would make faces at them, and she even borrowed someone’s unicorn hat. They know their fans well, and they showed this with their playlist. They played a few new songs (off this year’s Superstition) in a row and went full throttle and played a slew of older material from all eras. They would prefer to put on the best show they can than heavily promote their new material. They’re still very in tune with their audience.
There were some hiccups (the occasional flat note, wrong guitar pedal being turned on and more), but the night was a rush. It was immensely captivating and was intentionally putting fun ahead of proficiency. It’s what the fans would have wanted. The older fans had a huge nostalgic rush that dated to both their spark nearly 20 years ago and their breakthrough with 2004’s Violet. Newer fans got to see a show that was truly alive and bursting with enthusiasm. There’s a reason why The Birthday Massacre is a huge name in Toronto; Because they kill the party in the best meaning of the phrase.
