Toronto’s end-of-summer heat formed a blanket over Budweiser Stage on August 28. The usual pestering mugginess of the air served as a tender kiss goodbye to August, along with the freedom that comes with it. For high school and university students, their year was coming to an end as they prepared to embark on their next chapter of sleepless nights, eyeball headaches, and blue light glasses. Those not awaiting the impending doom of the school year were grieving the soon-to-be reality of walking out of the office at 5:00 p.m., with the sun already sunk behind the buildings.
Tunikichan set the mood of the night, supplying a soundtrack of fuzzy indie rock as the crowd filed into the venue. In mid-April of this year, Tunikichan performed at The Garrison in Toronto, and by late August, the San Franciscan artist returned to play the city, taking a drastic leap in venue size. The heavy and distorted bass lines softened with the addition of her vocals, creating a juxtaposition that hit the ears just right.
The aura of the night continued with Alex G’s bittersweet indie rock. While his mannerisms on stage were relatively unexpressive, his music’s emotionality permeated through the air. Mainly playing songs from his latest album, God Save the Animals, his usual existentialism now had occasional hints of hopefulness. He additionally offered a couple of his older songs like “Brick,” which showed off his musical versatility by engaging in an intense screaming match with his microphone. This could have scared off the Alvvays fans a bit, but Alex G fans were definitely there for it. Back in November of 2022, the Pensylvanian artist graced the stage at History, playing a nearly identical setlist. Though it is always a pleasure to see Alex G live, it would have been nice to see him play a more archive-heavy setlist since this tour was not attached to any particular album.
Alvvays ended off this emotive night with many songs from their latest album, Blue Rev. While this album received acclaim for its straightforward approach to indie rock, Alvvays truly dazzled their hometown with their earlier tracks. The sparkly dream pop found in their previous albums Antisocialites and Alvvays had the crowd on their feet and jumping along. Infatuated by the rich colours of the stage lights and the setting sun, the Torontonian band bid the final farewell of the night, ending with an encore.
The combination of these artists and the emotions they brought to the stage flawlessly mirrored the upcoming sting of autumn and all it would bring. Tanukichan started the night off with superb energy, Alex G’s brought the crowd back to reality with his melancholy, and Alvvays sent off the crowd with a sense of hope and closure.
