The Future of Music Lies in the Classic Rock of Yesterday. Local Band Faceless Keep the Groove Going in Toronto
- Michael Drukarsh
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By: Michael Drukarsh
Toronto, Ontario - The future of music lies in the classic rock of yesterday as evident in the seven song set by Toronto’s very own Faceless.
Consisting of high school friends (and full disclosure, a couple of former students of mine) Faceless performed at the Tranzac Club on Brunswick Street to help launch Project Metamorphosis. According to their website, “The Creative Coterie, are a youth-run collective of writers and artists passionate about empowering underrepresented voices using our craft… Our first printed issue, Project Metamorphosis: Nurturing the Voices of Tomorrow, is a creative anthology highlighting diverse young writers and artists across Canada.”
Along with some amazing and powerful open-mic poetry and spoken word, including young author and team member Katerina Doukas (another disclosure, a former student) who read the open prologue of her newly published book Mysteries of Astral, Faceless delivered two sets helping to keep the groove going throughout the festivities.
I walked into the venue during soundcheck and heard a quick snippet of lead vocalist Chole Borzellino belting out Rush’s “Closer to the Heart” and honestly, at that point, I could have left happy. Am I ever glad I stayed though as the classic tunes kept coming.
Sharing vocals and playing a pretty mean bass, Darius Keshiri is the driving force behind many of the song choices for the band. Considering this was their first gig outside of a high school talent show, the set list was incredibly impressive.
Starting off with Foo Fighters’ “Big Me”, the band which also includes Duncan Hamilton on guitar and Sean Tocek on drums, took on The Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden” and Eric Clapton’s “Layla” for their first performance. These are not your average teen music choices. Granted there were a few kinks in the delivery, the fact that they even attempted a song like “Layla” is pretty impressive and believe me, with a little more live audience experience to get over the nerves, Faceless will only get tighter!
The second set contained more great covers as well as two originals. Up first, another Beatles song, “Help!” that saw Keshiri and Borzellino do a great job of sharing and trading vocals. “Closer to the Heart” was next. After hearing a piece of the song earlier I was excited to hear the whole band come together for this, and they didn’t disappoint. Was it perfect? No. BUT not only did they take it on, it was really good. Borzellino’s voice warmed up nicely through the song while Keshiri did Geddy Lee proud on the bass. Both Tocek and Hamilton held their own as well, delivering a true Canadian classic!
The set ended with two originals. Trading the bass for the piano, the co-written Brozellino-Keshiri piece “Fade into the Night” is a beautiful song that really caught the audience’s attention. Their closing song “The Next Man”, penned by Keshiri, highlighted Tocek’s drumming while Brozellino grabbed the tambourine. While the covers were good, this was the stand out song for me. An incredible beat with fantastic lyrics, “The Next Man” was a very strong ending to a fun set.
To take a line from another incredible Canadian trio, Triumph, “Rock and roll lives and breathes in the hearts of the young.” This was never more evident than on that stage at the Tranzac with Faceless, made up of four high school kids, delivering the classic rock that helped create and define a whole genre of music that was around long before they were born.
We need to keep this alive by not just supporting live music but also by seeking out new and young talent such as those who were represented today by Project Metamorphosis: Nurturing the Voices of Tomorrow. If we want tomorrow to be as amazing as yesterday, then we need to make sure we nurture the present to help the future!
Faceless Photo Gallery (all photos by: Michael Drukarsh)
Show Date: September 6, 2026
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