Oh, the Velvet Underground, with your unfinished basement-like setting, and your leaky brick walls, that is where I found myself attending awaiting for The Dangerous Summer’s tour stop in Toronto. It was a full house, and a hardy line-up that awaited the patrons of the Velvet Underground this evening.
First up to take the stage was New Anthem, a pop punk band from Newmarket, Ontario. The band is made up of members Daren Disaster (vocals), Matthew May (bass), Chris Kari (guitar), and Chris Zoubs (drums). Tonight, it would only be Daren and Chris performing. The duo played an acoustic set, as they thought for such an intimate setting, the crowd should be treated to an intimate performance. Opening with their song “Memories”, and “Eagle Street” the duo wasted no time getting into their performance. Both paired with an acoustic guitar each, the duo proved to the crowd that they were skilled not on just electric guitar, playing beautiful harmonies that accompanied each other perfectly. Daren spoke to the crowd about The Dangerous Summer, saying that he had listened to them all throughout high school and that it was a dream come true getting the chance to open for them. He also spoke about how he wasn’t sure how an acoustic set would work but was happy to try it out. Finishing their set, Daren spoke about how he is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and how he just wants everyone to love who they want to love without any consequence. On topic, the duo closed their set with their song “Who I Love Is Not A Sin”.
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Second to the stage was California band rosecoloredworld, who was created by artists Addison and Rae. Walking up onto the stage, there was no prep time for the audience to grasp who was about to perform as rosecoloredworld started their set with a bang. Opening with their song’s “Cold Day In Hell” and “SPIT ME OUT”, I was left standing there jaw open, just blown away from their performance, almost having to remind myself to keep taking pictures for this article. The band spoke to the crowd about how their RV broke down a few hours before the show, but a gracious person from the park they were staying at offered to take them to the Velvet Underground as to not miss their performance. Rae spoke to the crowd asking if they were still alive, when the crowd screamed back in return, the band went right into their cover of “Creep” by Radiohead. Towards the end of their set, Addison informed the crowd that their RV had been fixed and was heading their way to pick them up after the show ended! Finishing off strong,the band performed their song “Blood Bath”, before thanking the crowd, and moving aside for the third and final opening act.
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Bad Luck. arrived as the third and final opener for The Dangerous Summer. Right off the bat, the guitarist and bassist showed mad energy as they moved and rocked their way about the stage. The band had a fun quirkiness to them that I enjoyed thoroughly. The group performed a great mix of songs from fast and upbeat, to more relaxed and laid back. The lead singer spoke to the crowd asking them how excited they were for The Dangerous Summer, and also informed them to remember to tip the bar and merch staff. They thanked Toronto for having them before moving into the remainder of their set closing with “Noise in Your Head” and “Willoughby”.
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This was the moment the crowd had been waiting for, The Dangerous Summer. The band readied themselves on stage, quickly assembling their drum set and guitars, before opening the show with a song from their latest album Gravity, “Pacific Ocean”. Moving along through the follow up tracks “Way Down” and “Fuck Them All”, lead singer AJ Perdomo asked the crowd why he heard someone fighting about Mill St beer (as beer types can be a very touchy subject to discuss in southern Ontario). The band continued to speak to the crowd, mentioning it felt good to be back in Toronto, as they hadn’t been here since before the COVID-19 pandemic begun.
Moving back into their set, the group's energy never faded or faltered as I noticed the bassist and guitarist constantly moving and whipping their heads back and forth to the beat and chord of every song. The guitarist proved to me as well that he was not camera shy and popped up close to my lens a few times, even kissing the camera on the back of the person’s phone who was next to me. Stopping again for a moment, AJ had asked the crowd if they had gotten the chance to listen to their latest album Gravity yet. The whole crowd let out a chorus of screams confirming that they had, indeed, listened to the album. Pointing to the back, AJ had also let them know that, if interested, the vinyl was available to purchase, and encouraged the crowd to buy merch from the other opening acts to help support them. Treading back into their set, The Dangerous Summer continued with their song “What’s An Hour Really Worth”, and was pleased to see the entire ensemble of concert attendees sing scream every word back to them.
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As someone who has been to many concerts, I really enjoy smaller venues like this as you can see how close the artists are with their fans, giving more of an intimate and personal show for their best fans in each city. That point was proved again tonight as the crowd really connected with one another, and the performers, during “Ghosts”. AJ stopped after “Ghosts” to make sure that everyone gave a huge round of applause for those who opened for them tonight. The Dangerous Summer brought rosecoloredworld back on stage for a brief moment, and AJ cracked a joke about how everyone should buy more rosecoloredworld merch to help with their RV troubles.
Before resuming into the final part of their show, The Dangerous Summer asked the crowd to scream the title of their favourite song from the band. It was enjoyable watching everyone screaming their song names, even though I couldn’t make out a single song title with a mixture of a few hundred voices. Heading into the final bits of their performance the band thanked the crowd for attending tonight’s show, before mentioning how much they do enjoy and love performing in Toronto. Letting the crowd know how much the band loves them, The Dangerous Summer finished their set with their songs “Where Were You When The Sky Opened Up” and “The Permanent Rain”.
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An enjoyable show, and was very excited to get to see more of who The Dangerous Summer was in person. Not to mention, the amazing openers that I got introduced to, who will now for sure be on my radar! You can stream The Dangerous Summer’s latest album below on Spotify.
