Alvvays with Moon King at The Opera House

Photographs by Fernando Paiz.

Alvvays kept it short and sweet in front of a full house at The Opera House on Saturday night. The show marked the end of a two-month long tour, where the Toronto natives played dates across Europe and the United States. Opening the show was another Toronto native band called Moon King.

‘Adult Diversion’ and ‘Next of Kin’ – off of the band’s self-titled debut album – played like real crowd favourites, and vocalist Molly Rankin thanked Toronto for their years-long support of the band, and for their support of all of the great music coming out of Toronto these past few years. 

And she’s right about that, too. Alvvays are part of a burgeoning Toronto music scene and we’re all the more thankful for it. It all seems to be happening at once in Toronto; the variety of music coming out of the city is as impressive as the quality of it. There are so many great bands, so many unique sounds, and it’s all happening at once. It’s a really great thing.

The show itself was reminiscent of California in the 1960’s. Ocean waves, kaleidoscopes; like listening to The Strokes in a dream. It’s a really sweet sound Alvvays have got, a sound Molly Rankin described as ‘girl-pop’ from onstage at The Opera House.

I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Definitely a band to look out for in 2015.