Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF
Occasionally, the dedicated staff of Spinning Platters gets the opportunity to watch, photograph, and/or review shows from outside of our comfortable Bay Area confines. A few previous trips have included Chicago, Dallas, and Las Vegas, to cover Deftones, Gojira, New Found Glory, Suffocation, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Mercyful Fate, Kreator, and August Burns Red. This time around, one of Spinning Platters’ two resident metalheads was somehow allowed into Canada eh and spent the week in the 416, where we saw Jinjer, Hanabie., Born of Osiris, Scream, Dropkick Murphys, Pennywise, Hatebreed, Carcass, Harm’s Way, and Crypta!
(Korn + Gojira, Benighted + Cognitive, Gatecreeper + Frozen Soul, Galactic Empire + Powerglove were also here during our week-long stay but was not able to attend any of these for various reasons, but mostly due to them being on the same night as another show!)
Considering the length of writing in detail about each show (and considering the short attention span theater of everyone these days…), below is a mostly pictorial review of a busy week of shows while visiting the Great White North.
Waking up at the crack of dawn and flying all the way across the country (and into another) is not usually the most fun item on the travel itinerary, but when the opportunity arises to then go straight to a music venue… it’s worth taking that early flight and powering through the jetlag.
That first stop was to see Ukrainian metalcore band Jinjer, who, in addition to being tour ambassadors of Ukraine, are on a North American tour with Japanese Gen Z all-girl Harajuku-core sensation Hanabie. and metalcore band Born of Osiris.
As great as Jinjer was, with a 15-song set that equally spanned their entire discography (plus three new songs that will be released on a full length in early 2025), Hanabie. was definitely the band of the night. There was so much energy from these four young Japanese girls. It was incredible to hear and see this petite singer switch from a guttural metal growl to normal kawaii voice with the greatest of ease!
Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images of Hanabie.
(for the uninitiated, Dave Grohl was their drummer from 1986-1990 prior to joining Nirvana)
Great Canadian Casino Resort is about a half-hour outside of downtown Toronto by car and much longer by public transit. Deciding not to submit for a photo pass due to its location was a rookie mistake, because as soon as a last-minute day-of-show ticket popped up on StubHub for only $7 cad ($5.20 us), the correct decision was made and the Uber was booked to go to the casino!
Hardcore icons Hatebreed are one of the few bands that can be counted on to always have a great set and give 150%, whether it’s in the middle of a sunny day at Warped Tour (2017) or Ozzfest (five different times in the early 2000’s), the first band of four to warm up the crowd (Metal Tour of the Year 2021), or their own headliners. This current tour is to celebrate 30 years! In the past eight of those years, however, they have not performed in San Francisco very often… which makes our final night in Toronto at REBEL all the better to be able to share it with them, grindcore metal masters Carcass, Chicago hardcore Harm’s Way, and Brazilian death metal band Crypta!
Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images of Hatebreed.
Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images of Carcass.
Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images of Harms Way. (side note: click this to see an amazingly hilarious Harm’s Way Facebook group!)
Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images of Crypta.
