Advertisement

Concert reviews Music

Burning Hell @ Garrison

The Burning Hell at the Garrison on Thurs, August 5. Rating: NNN


Thursday was the Toronto launch for vinyl-only release This Charmed Life from Peterborough’s The Burning Hell, though somehow that fact was obscured by a “just another show” vibe.

The night got off to a slow start with an under-attended solo set from Burning Hell guitarist Jill Staveley, who made the best of the situation, commenting on her “intimate moment with Toronto.”

Fellow opener Craig Norris (yes, R3-30 Craig Norris) sang thoughtful, rambling ballads from behind his Korg, but fell victim to a typical talk over the piano man response as the audience trickled in.

Uke-slinging baritone frontman Mathias Kom started off solo with songs from the new Burning Hell album, inspired by his time in the Yukon.

Robert’s Bad End and Northern Life were good, barebones sketches, but Kom seemed apologetic about the new material and eager to invite the rest of the seven-piece band up for crowd-pleasers from Baby and fan-favourites like The Things That People Make and Tired Of Playing Music. Staveley’s backup vocals were great, and bassist Nick Ferrio’s energy was infectious. The audience started dancing for Dancer/Romancer and more or less didn’t stop until Mike Duguay’s synth in the air move during the encore.

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.