Toronto, Ontario - On August 24, 2023, Toronto's Lee's Palace hosted a 4 band metal extravaganza featuring Born of Osiris, Upon a Burning Body, Traitors, and local sophomores Beguiler. Sadly, the day after the event, my mother suddenly passed away (unrelated to the show of course), and I quickly found myself on a plane to Canada's East Coast. Thus, the show had not received the coverage it deserved. While the tour concluded on September 7 in Alton, VA, I cannot neglect to let it be known that the bands on this bill brought the roof down!
I had not attended a show at Lee's Palace in quite a long time. In fact, the last time I stepped foot inside this venue, none of the bands performing at this event had even been formed yet. Located in Toronto's "Bloor Annex", Lee's Palace is one of those venues in the city that has stood the test of time. Converted to its current use in 1985, the concert hall is such an amazing piece of nostalgia that brings some fantastic bands, and the sound here is great.
As I arrived outside the vendue awaiting the doors to open, the lineup started to stretch well down Bloor Street. In my recent memory of covering live music, there tends to be a lot of interest by the passers by. It's typical for somebody to enquire as to who's performing that night. It was no different on this night as an older lady stopped and asked a young fan behind me, who was playing. He happily responded "Born of Osiris! Do you know them??"
"I've heard of them" she replies immediately. "I'm going to see Death Cab for Cutie in Boston. It's Awesome!!" Her engagement made me smile. Perhaps I am wrong, but my gut told me she hadn't really ever heard of 'Born of Osiris', but she at least happily participated in conversation. Not something that is typical in a cold, harsh city.
Beguiler
As mentioned off the top, Beguiler is a local band (well, they are from Oshawa, Ontario, a city approximately 60 km east of Toronto) that kicked off the evening on this night. Almost every gig I have attended since the Covid Pandemic has been packed right from the get-go. Unfortunately, the fans seemed a little sparse to start off this show, and I had a feeling that perhaps we weren't going to see a full house. But that had nothing to do with the talent on the stage.
Beguiler was heavy, and the crowd on hand was completely engaged. As lead singer Jacob Cooledge leans his microphone into the crowd, the metal maniacs scream into it, and at a break in the action, one fan yells out "I fucking love you!!".
It was Beguiler's job here to get the crowd warmed up, and they did their duty and then some. Prior to the band's final track, the crowd was a sea of headbangers, and it was getting hot as hell in here!
Traitors
Tampa, Florida's Traitors was next up on the bill. The band formed in 2013, and to date, have released 4 full length albums, with the most recent coming in 2019 when they released Repent. It had been 5 years since the band had been in Toronto and they were determined to make sure the crowd didn't forget them.
Sometimes, it takes a crowd a little coercing to get off their asses, and for Traitors, this was one of those crowds. But this only motivated the band that much more. They didn't let the lax crowd bring them down early, and frontman Tyler Shelton blasted them yelling out "Wake the fuck up! IS THIS A METAL SHOW???", and he continued to rile the crowd at every opportunity.
Shelton (and the band) were successful in their pursuit as we got our first body surfers, and Shelton himself was helping stage divers up onto the stage and by the end of the band's set, the mosh pit was raging!
Upon a Burning Body
While the first 2 bands were great, shit was about to get real with San Antonio, Texas's Upon a Burning Body. In 2025, the band will celebrate 20 years, so they are no slouches when it comes to kicking major ass, both with their music and their live performances. Case in point, the band came flying out of the gate with extreme energy and power as they immediately burst into their opening track "Southern Hostility".
Using the whole stage, Upon a Burning Body was screaming around at the front of Lee's Palace. Risers were placed at the front of the stage which saw lead singer Danny Leal, hanging out here during most of the band's set, giving him a birds eye view of the now packed house. I should have known better, that you weren't going to keep these Toronto metalheads away for long. The crowd was so wild during Upon a Burning Body's set, that a mosh pit even broke out at the back of the venue by the bar. I can honestly say, this is something I have never witnessed.
After this mosh pit breakout in the back, and after the band's track "BMF" that saw the crowd belting out the lyrics, Leal blasted out "You motherfuckers are not screwing around tonight!" And they definitely weren't. The band's whole set was fast and furious. Everybody in the joint was sweating profusely, and Leal brings out the iconic flag for the band's last song. He tells the crowd how amazing they have been, throws out some free t-shirts (something else I cannot ever recall seeing), and the crowd sings the intro and the band explodes into "Texas Blood Money". With the band's performance tonight, they could have easily played a dual headlining tour with the main event.
BORN OF OSIRIS
Currently consisting of vocalist Ronnie Canizaro, guitarists Lee McKinney and Nick Rossi, keyboardist Joe Buras, and drummer Cameron Losch, Born of Osiris was formed in 2003. The band is based out of a Chicago, IL suburb called Palatine. They have amassed a huge following and the fans in attendance for their show here in Toronto were completely gassed to see these guys. The heat intensified as soon as the band hit the stage, and the crowd went wild.
Mere minutes into the set, a female fan found herself carried on the hands of her peers toward the stage. She climbed up, and started headbanging with lead singer Canizaro, at which another dude arrived immediately after her and stage dived into the crowd. At a venue like Lee's Palace, there is no security pit in front of the stage, so the fans are fully able to climb up on stage, thrash with the band for a second, and then launch themselves back into the crowd. It's such a cool visual, and while I was never a stage diver, I can only imagine the freedom it brings to the fan who is partaking.
The stage at Lee's Palace is not very large. For the 5-piece that is headlining this tour, it makes for close quarters, but the band is completely engaged in front of the crowd, using the limited space afforded to them. They plow through their first 4 songs, until the band's frontman finally greets the crowd, albeit brief. "It's great to be back in Toronto. This next song is called Angel or Alien", which is the title track from the band's 2021 album. The fans are singing, moshing... sweating. In fact, the whole floor (which is actually a sunken floor in the middle of the venue) is a mosh pit. It reminds me of the heydays of thrash/death/heavy metal. It is absolute, pure adrenalin in here!
The lack of a security pit also brings the fans and the band closer, making for such a much more intimate experience. Keyboardist and vocalist Joe Buras, and the band's lead singer are able to high-five the fans in the first couple rows. Everybody is smiling. This is exactly what this genre of music is all about. Despite the stereotypes, and ignorance, there is a deep love here for the fans and the bands. It's all about having a great time, and despite what anybody thinks of the insanity (of course not literal), it's bloody amazing!! Something we need so much more of.
Born of Osiris Online:
show date: August 24, 2023
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