Broken Social Scene with Portugal. The Man at Budweiser Stage

Photos by Katrina Wong Shue.

We kicked off the 2018 Summer Concert season with Broken Social Scene at Budweiser Stage in Toronto.

On Thursday May 24^th, Portugal. The Man opened up the night at Budweiser Stage. As the band has grown tremendously over the year as a result of their hit single, “Feel it Still,” they brought out quite the crowd in collaboration with Broken Social Scene.

The last time I saw Portugal. The Man, approximately two years ago, they opened up for Cage the Elephant. It was a good show, but just good. There were no visuals, and little energy. To say I was under-whelmed, would be accurate. As their presence in the mainstream music scene has grown tremendously over the past year, I was expecting a bit more – and they exceeded those expectations. They included visuals, actually spoke in between songs, and seemed excited to be there whilst performing. Their set-list included hits such as “Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue,” “Modern Jesus,” “Feel It Still,” and even some covers such as “ Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2,” “All Your Light (Times Like These), and “Atomic Man.” Overall, the band seemed more united and their set was very impressive. I wish them all the best moving forward.

As for Broken Social Scene, they took the stage around 10pm. Honestly, they couldn’t have chosen a better band for opening night at Budweiser Stage. There is something so fulfilling that is always given to each and every audience member while attending their set. I believe it is the power and talent of so many Canadian artists on one stage together. I also believe it is the idea of them continuously switching up the touring band and welcoming new guests into their show. No matter how they switch it up, they never fail to leave me underwhelmed. I believe that it also doesn’t matter if you know their songs or not, the set is just as magical to every pair of eyes and ears in the crowd.

Amy Millan’s vocals were on point, as per usual. They played some of the new and the old including “7/4 Shoreline,” “Halfway Home,” “Hug of Thunder,” “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl,” and more. They played for just over an hour, and they performed all the tracks that their fans wanted to hear- which is another aspect of what makes their show as incredible successful as it is.