Photographs by Neil Van.
Day two of Stay Warm Fest kept the Danforth Music Hall a little more snug than its first night of hosting the festival. More on the heavier side, the second day was headlined by Whitby prog-metal heads, Protest the Hero as the roaster included The Flatliners, A Wilhelm Scream, Cyclamen, River Oaks and Sparrows. The night was a mixture of hardcore punk and progressive technical metal.
Toronto post-whatever (taken from their facebook) Sparrows , not to confuse with blues rock band from Toronto in the ‘60s, The Sparrows, the hardcore band began the night with heavy and fast paced sounds. Formed in 2011, maybe older than that, the band seemed to be heavily influenced by Toronto’s scene and refers to Toronto’s neighboring city, Brampton in a song called “It’s Always Sunny in Bramelea” of their latest ep, Dragging Hell (2015). A mixture of melodious guitar riffs with intense lyrical images.
Continuing the show off with a bit of yesterdays great finale, lead singer of Silverstein, Shane Todd, hailed to stage as it was his first time performing his acoustic solo project, River Oaks. The humbled Scarborough native played acoustic songs off his acoustic Ep that debuted earlier this year of the same name, River Oaks (2016), signed under Canadian label, New Damage Records. An Ep that the young singer described as “pouring his whole heart into” had everyone taking a moment to put their hands together. My favorite off the Ep and that was Todd had performed was “Let You Down.” A highlight of his set was not only the quirky acoustic performance but his acoustic version of “My Heroin” which made it my second time in two days hearing the song live. Incredible rendition and stripped down perfectly.
Traveling from literally cross the world, Tokyo technical metal heads, Cyclamen hail to stage. Playing a hard and intense show with off timing rhythms and Japanese lyrics, the band was extremely humbled to be sharing the stage with a band they have been inspired by, Protest the Hero. “Dilurelm” off their latest digital album, Fragments (2016) was probably the weirdest, oddest but coolest song I’ve had ever had the chance to experience hearing live.
A Wilhelm Scream, formally known as Smacking Isaiah, began the show off with fun, pop punky riffs. Releasing their latest album only 3 years ago, Partycrasher (2013), after some label changes the band were excited to play for an eager audience. Lead singer, Nuno Pereira, kept an infectious and elated smile on his face as he sang through chorus lines and still maintained a well timed head banging session.
The Flatliners, a ska hardcore punk band hailing from different parts of Ontario including, Hamilton, Toronto and Brampton. The band expressed their thoughts of how much they’ve missed Toronto and how they haven’t played a show for fellow Torontonian in over a year. Lead singer, Chriss Cresswell, humored the audience as he joked about playing a bunch of “G” chords like their previous band, A Wilhelm Scream. “Bury Me” off their recent record, A Dead Language (2013), was such a great and catchy song to hear live.
Headliners, Protest the Hero hailed stage. It was basically everything everyone in the crowd expected and more. Rody Walkers, who’s powerful, roaring growls and melodious vocals made every single audience member scream in excitement. Formed in Southern Ontario, Whitby natives performed their record which was only available through Bandcamp, Pacific Myth (2016), as the album artwork hung behind them. Thanking fans for expressing their love in their music and through the years, the band played songs off the album, Volition (2013) an album they decided to crowd fund after getting into a disputation with record labels. Although their set list was short, the humbled band exited the stage while reminding fans that they would be turning to Toronto on their own headlining tour in February of next year.
