The Ladies Own the Night!! Vana brings The Lady in Red Tour to The Mod Club in TO!!
- Justin Michael Carriere
- 12 minutes ago
- 7 min read
By: Justin Michael Carriere
Toronto, Canada - Congratulations New Zealand, you have a Bonafide Metal Queen. Vana (pronounced VAH-NAH) brought her first headlining tour, The Lady in Red, to The Mod Club in Toronto on Thursday April 28th. Born in California, but raised in Aukland and calling NZ home, the metalcore musician is currently on the road in 2026 after signing with Sumerian Records, joining their ranks along with heavyweights like Nita Strauss, Hollywood Undead and Slaughter to Prevail. Boasting a slew of singles, and millions of streams across multiple platforms, the kiwi singer/musician is self-taught, and a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ2+ community. With a packed touring schedule and a full-length album expected later this year, she shows no signs of slowing down.
When I arrived at the club, the line up was already down the block and College street was buzzing! Making my way to the front of the room to get set in the pit with my camera, the security guard that let me in said “we’re expecting body surfing, just a heads up” … Amazing! I don’t deal with a lot of hazards in my day to day, but I was excited at the prospect of dodging flailing limbs! The other thing I immediately noticed once I was geared up was a drum set downstage right; I was disproportionally happy about this because it is often very challenging to snap good photos of the folks behind the kit. So, Hallelujah for the stick flickers!!
REDHOOK
Kicking off the night was RedHook, rap-rockers coming out of Sydney, Australia. Their first time in North America, lead singer Emmy Mack expressed how grateful they were to be touring with a line-up of “bad-ass motherfucking bitches!!” With two full length albums under their belt, they got the night started with a bang, literally, with their tune “Bomb.com”. Mack spits venom with rapid fire lyrics, easily flowing from staccato word play to soaring vocals and primal screams. With help from guitarist Craig Wilkinson, bass player Ned Jankovic and drummer Alex Powys, the quartet hammered through selections from their catalogue with joyful intensity.
The mosh pit started early with Mack shouting “let’s get this shit spinning!” and to be sure the crowd got the idea, she led the charge, whirling like a tornado with Wilkinson and Jankovic. Offering us a few costume changes, Mack threw down in a straight jacket for “Hexx” and a bloodied white dress for “Dead Walk”. Doing her best Zombie walk up on stage, she was mirrored by a gentleman in the crowd who walked past me doing the very same thing… but out of necessity… fortunately he was followed by a sober friend, so fret not!
My attention was then immediately drawn back to the stage as Powys was left alone onstage to rip into a killer drum solo. For their closing song “Bad Decisions” the band got the bubbles going. And that’s not code; actual bubbles! They also threw out a beach ball and truly had a blast finishing their night. As I was waiting for the next act, I overheard someone behind me excitedly talking about receiving a set list from the band and saying, “As far as opening bands go, they were one of the best I’ve ever seen”. I couldn’t agree more, set list guy.
RedHook Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
DEADLANDS
Next to grace the Mod Club stage was New York quartet Deadlands. The mission, according to lead singer Kasey Karlsen was to “warm you motherfuckers up”… well, mission accomplished! Starting their set with “Villain” off their EP Seven, Karlsen exploded with growling vocals on the verse before transitioning into a towering chorus. With crushing guitar from CJ Arey, thick bass lines from Niles Gregory and booming drums courtesy of Andrew Gaudio, the band had bodies dropping into the pit almost instantly. I think I counted 4 in a row… leave it to Canadians to crowd surf in an orderly fashion!
Karlsen aggressively moved about the stage feeling every double kick and every thundering riff. Like all the incredibly talented women in the line up on this evening, I was in constant awe of her ability to move so seamlessly from a beautiful singing voice to a rumbling snarl that is tantamount to a 7.0 earthquake rising out of depths of hell! She had the crowd up and down and moving through the whole set, and even singing along on “Die in Paradise”.
While I couldn’t quite abide Arey’s LA Dodgers hat (the pain is still very real) there was no denying the man’s skill with a 7-string axe! The tone he was wielding was so heavy he couldn’t help but headbang with the rest of us (which resulted in the hat coming off at one point and I wasn’t upset about it). Roaming the stage as much as Karlsen, the two were absolutely magnetic. Not to be outdone, Gregory’s bass tone was massive to the point where I actually wrote down “Jurassic Park bass” in my notes! Moving through “Kundalini” and “Wither” the band gave Gaudio the spotlight to show off his percussive prowess before an incredible performance of “House of Cards” to finish the set.
After the band left to stage, it was safe to say that we had been thoroughly warmed up!!
Deadlands Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
CHANDLER LEIGHTON
Taking the penultimate spot in the evening was another California based artist Chandler Leighton. Having joined the tour 13 days prior to the start of it, Leighton acknowledged some hesitance by saying “what if nobody is there to sing along, and here you all are!” In prepping for this write up, Leighton’s music leaned more towards the pop side, but on this night, the heavy was cranked up!!
Accompanied by bassist Aubrey Harris and drummer Aaron Stechauner (who immediately went tarps off as soon as he got behind the kit) and with a little tracking help, Leighton looked just as at home behind the crunching riffs as Mack and Karlsen. They had the crowd involved from the jump on songs like “Poison” and “When You Say My Name” and then literally jumping on “Say Less”! Turning the heat up on “touchin’ me” the chemistry between Leighton and Harris was very sensual. The interplay between the two of them was mesmerizing throughout their time on stage together.
Harris and Stechauner are both amazingly talented, evidenced by their abilities to never miss a beat while still being completely drawn in by Leighton. Stechauner would routinely get up and move around the kit WHILE STILL PLAYING!! Crazy. Harris for her part relished in the sultry ambience the music was delivering, and it had us all captivated.
For the final song, Leighton opened up with a deeply personal story before Stechauner, standing on his stool, got the crowd to break out the phone lights. As the intro to “Waiting For You To Heal” began, the Mod Club audience gently swayed their arms back and forth for a beautiful and rising ballad to finish the set. An elegant calm before the impending storm…
Chandler Leighton Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
VANA
Enter said storm… with whispered rumblings coming from the speakers, the lights went out. The anticipation in the crowd was as high as it had been all night when Vana and band mates took to the stage and then promptly took over!
Clad in a gorgeous neo-gothic red dress, while the rest of the band was fully masked and all in black, she launched right into “Pray”. A perfect display of what the powerhouse Queen from New Zealand brings to the stage; a brutal blend of heavy riffs and raw, emotional lyrics. Her siren song draws you in before eviscerating your soul. But like, in a good way. With Niles Gregory (yes that Niles Gregory!) on guitar, Harlan Jones on bass and Mathieux Davis on drums, it’s easy to see why she is on a trajectory to take over as the next Metal Maven.
With a hooded figure frequently presiding over the proceedings on the stage from the screen, Vana, bedazzled mic in hand, moved aggressively and purposely around the stage, launching a full blown assault on the Mod Club crowd. Working through the setlist, her signature vocals rang out with perfection. On “Harlequin” the driving melodies pair perfectly with the weighty chorus and when she got to “In Your Name”, the slow build in the verses and chorus waxes and wanes until the massive drop in the bridge brought the house down.
And the men in the masks only added to the dark ambience of the night, again, not missing a beat or note. Which is MASSIVELY impressive. As some of you may know, I’m a D/C/G guy, and I still need a clean look at what I’m playing! To have the ability to play that hard and heavy on a dark stage through haze (which was cranked up) AND MASKS?? A tip of the cap to the band.
While I knew the music would be heavy, intense and with a near constant red hue of light, also devilishly beguiling, what surprised me most was how much fun Vana was having throughout. From trolling us by intro’ing a song from her early synth pop days and bringing a fan up on stage with her to play a quick round of 'Magic the Gathering', to leading an impromptu "Happy Birthday" song to squirrel guy (IYKYK). She was having a blast and relishing every moment on the stage by giving us an amazing blend of metal and mischief.
As she was nearing the end of her time, she further impressed by grabbing a guitar (metal) covered in SpongeBob (mischief) for “Crawling”. The addition of another six string (actually six this time) gave Gregory a chance to show us his chops with a ripping solo! Closing with “Die for Me” she had the crowd waving their hands back and forth before the band took their leave…briefly!
The Mod Club audience clearly wanted more and Vana and the band were happy to deliver. Making their way back onstage, she led the crowd with a few brief instructions before blasting into “Beg”. For the finale, she once again donned a guitar, but this time, it was all business; a cherry red 7 string to add to the deep symphony of sound on “Clandestine”, after which she gathered the band and took a photo with the Mod Club crowd to commemorate the chaos!
Set List
Pray
NOXIOUS
HARLEQUIN!
PLEASER
In Your Name
SERPENTINE
BITE BACK
Crawling
DIE FOR ME!
Encore
BEG!
Clandestine
After the show I exited amidst the buzzing crowd with the knowledge that there is a tidal wave of feminine metal talent crashing down and we’d best batten down the hatches!!
4 bad ass bitches out of 4!!
Vana Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Vana Online
Show Date: April 28, 2026
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