2025 in concert
Nov. 30th, 2025 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dramaturgistthis was a great year for live music & new music :) expanded my tastes so much but also returned to what i know and love to be true
- went with: kubra, ana + her roommates
- venue: mtelus, GA (first time going to a show there!)
- would just like to say that i've liked role model since he was writing cringe gay music about emma chamberlain and to see him this year was (embarrassingly) very full circle.
- main thing is he was just SOOO cutesy and charming and endearing and all these things that i wasn't expecting because he does not look like someone with good stage presence. i was glad because i wasn't the biggest fan of his new album so if the music was boring AND he was boring it just wouldn't have been a great concert.
- the crowd was also really fun which was probably why he was able to feed off everyone's energy :) i actually think the crowds in every single montreal concert i've been to have been pretty fucking great, everyone in this city is always hype max. the crowd started 'ole ole ole'ing halfway through his set and he looked thoroughly confused & geeked at the same time - it reminded me of last year when everyone did that at the olivia concert and she was so happy :)
- he is a good singer but i can't lie some of his slower songs lost me. i was there for the fun vibes and easily digestible pop - which he did serve!
- hearing sally live was very very fun and probably one of my favourite concert memories :) hearing blind with kubra was also so important because that was one of #oursongs in 2023 (speaking of cringe gay music)
- merch: bad and ugly, did not buy any
- went with: kubra & we got there way too early and stood in line in the COLD for whatever reason but we were very close to the stage so it was fine :)
- venue: mtelus, GA (much less packed than it was for role model lol)
- she was so so fun and ON and had the most energetic and infectious stage presence ever which i already expected but was so awesome to experience live!!
- i wasn't super familiar with the setlist but because her music is so upbeat and poppy i was able to dance/sing along to most of the music which i loved
- also shoutout to the opening band dana & alden who were very cool and serving alternative jazz realness. there was someone in the crowd who i think was a friend of the band and the second the opening set was over i overheard them saying "oh should we just leave now? idk if the next act is going to be any good :/" rip to remi
- other than^ that person the crowd was super fun too because it was mostly gay people and there was once again some ole ole oleing except remi took it completely in stride and was not surprised at all <3
- cinderella live was SO FUN and probably my favourite moment of the concert and in fact i loved it so much that i even bought the ugliest merch of my life just bc it had the lyrics on it
- merch: see above. there was much cuter merch that i regret not buying instead :( but at least me and kubra have matching shirts now
- scream. SCREAM. IF YOU KNOW ME YOU KNOW HOW I FELT ABOUT THIS.
- went with: kubra and we took the train to toronto and stayed at my friend's house for the weekend just for the concert
- venue: massey hall, GA (first time there and it was genuinely one of the most beautiful venues i've been to)
- OKAY. backstory to this. i was never a huge boygeniuser but then she released forever is a feeling and i LOVED it so much that i genuinely felt like i would die if i did not experience it live, so i apologised deeply to kubra for not listening to them when they first told me we should go get tickets to see her and we ended up paying more than we would've if we planned it earlier but it was fine bc we booked last minute train tickets and everything worked out.
- we waited in line for i think 4 hours? in front of toronto eaton center ONCE AGAIN IN THE COLD because april in canada is evil. but it was so worth it because we were RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.!!!
- what can i even say. she was so beautiful and her voice is so beautiful and i could sing along to every single song and with every song it just got BETTER and it was just. one of my favourite concert experiences of all time.
- there were so many lesbian couples there that i felt emotional and so happy to be able to experience it with my beautiful girlfriend #loveisreal
- i cant pick a favourite moment but hot & heavy is actually my favourite song in the whole entire world by anyone ever and hearing it live made me actually tear up in the first minute of her set. like. what the fuck. and ending with night shift was so haunting and fitting and perfect.
- also i forgot to say but KATIE GAVIN AND JASMIN.4.T WERE SO GOOD and katie is genuinely so sexy i didnt realise until she was right in front of me...
- merch: her merch is so so beautiful and i wish i couldve bought all of it and i SHOULD HAVE gone to the merch stand while we were waiting in line instead of waiting to go AFTER the concert because the only shirt they had left was in xxl. i still bought it though.. it has a car and its cute :)
- went with: kubra (are you seeing a pattern here?)
- venue: theatre beanfield, GA seated because we went late and were tired
- probably the most nothingburger concert on this list but it was STILL very fun! saint motel used to be one of my favourite bands in high school & so many of their old songs are so important to me so even though i didn't know anything off their new album (which was honestly quite bad) i loved getting to hear my favourite songs :)
- the crowd was mostly dads and millenials which makes sense but the band honestly had quite fun stage presence! all of their music is so upbeat and easy to sing along to which was nice and made it a fun experience even if you didn't know the songs
- there were a lot of songs they played that felt very full circle to listen to but i especially loved a good song never dies / van horn because they made it to the top of my most played songs in 2020 LOL
- went with: kubra and safna, because we wanted to drag safna along with us to a random concert for the vibes (also ran into a random other friend otw there)
- venue: bar le ritz which is one of my favourite concert spaces in the city
- ok another wild card... remember the top songs from 2020 i mentioned earlier... my #1 song in 2020 was a little ditty called out of style by the wrecks. its kind of the worst song ever made and i loved it so much and when i found out they were coming here i had to see them or i would die.
- mind you i literally only knew 3 songs by this band and they are honestly not that good but me and kubra will do anything for the bit - and luckily it was a very fun performance!!! i can't lie!!!! the lead singer had some kind of autistic rizz going on and was oddly charming & endearing. again.
- they're very waterparks/wallows adjacent with a side of early 5sos energy esp in terms of absolutely atrocious lyrics set to pop rock. at the end of the day i love teenage dirtbag music
- favourite moment by far was singing along to out of style w/ kubra while safna watched on horrified. i'm still sad they didn't play james dean which is my other favourite song by them
- merch: i'm not that insane
- went with: nikhila & diya (my first ever concert without kubra.. :( )
- venue: bell centre, seated in the 100s
- ANOTHER CONCERT THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT AND FELT SO FULL CIRCLE. i loved virgin so much more than i expected to and i was so so happy she was performing the album in full. the album is so turned all the way down that i didn't know what to expect in an arena concert but she translated the music so well live!
- her stage presence is sooo good... she's like somehow so nonchalant yet charismatic and she's been doing this for so log but her eyes were so earnest... she gave a really emotional speech halfway through her set about friendship and community and finding love despite alienation and it was soo sweet :')
- her music is just SO iconic that it almost felt unreal that i was experiencing stuff like green light, buzzcut season, ribs, etc live. like she was THERE. and everyone in the arena was just truly embodying the music. the girls in front of us were lowkey sobbing the whole time.
- also THE OPENERS!!!! i was so happy to see japanese house bc i was so obsessed with her album earlier in the summer and her voice was so lovely live, it was just her and a guitar and beautiful melodic dream pop :') hearing sunshine baby live was so #healing
- i wasn't super familiar with blood orange before but my friends are big fans and his set was also so good, it has the same almost dreamy quality that i found a lot in the music i was listening to over the summer
- must be said that lorde is also so sexy... more than anything she is just sensuous... and so in tune with herself & her body. all of her choices onstage felt so right for the music and nothing felt gimmicky, it was all for the sake of her art
- favourite moment.. i don't even know... a world alone encore was SO amazing and beautiful and unreal in the moment but i can close my eyes and picture being in the moment all over again.
- merch: the most expensive merch i bought this yr but it was worth it.. i got the blue ultrasound tour dates shirt w/ the lineart of her looking at the solar eclipse<3
- went with: safna
- venue: theatre beanfield, GA standing (i like the venue a lot more when i'm standing)
- 2 new zealand music acts in a row?! they're doing crazy things with music down there. the beths are another band i discovered this year and immediately fell in love with their new album - rock & roll is so back
- they were very good objectively and The Beth herself (elizabeth the lead singer who actually goes by Liz) was very sweet but none of them have much stage presence. it felt like they would rather be anywhere but on the stage LOL but i still had fun because the music was so good!!
- their bassist was probably the most #KeyedUp and he had little heart shaped tuning pegs attached to the head of his bass which i found very endearing. he was also the one that did most of the talking/bantering with the rest of the band
- it was a really good setlist and i can definitely see the beths becoming more popular in the upcoming year because they really did release an album with no skips at all
- no joy was one of my top songs of the fall and i loved getting to sing along to it <3 and i love guitar in my ear <3
- merch: i bought a shirt w/ the album art for straight line was a lie! i wore it to work the following monday and when i was at the cafeteria this man struck up conversation with me over it & told me his daughter went to the concert too, and we spent like 10 mins discussing his daughter's music taste and her influences on him which was so so cute and lovely.
- i got to see a LOT of different DJS and small bands this year which was really fun!
- i don't remember the names of a lot of the bands but they were mostly at barfly and ye olde orchard (small bars with live music acts scheduled throughout the week). a lot of them were cover bands but their energy was always so fun and reminded me why i love live music :')
- i also rediscovered my love for dancing this year which was largely in part to discovering DJs that are doing actually fun stuff with their sets and it isn't just the same 3 tired beat drops that you get bored of after like 15 minutes. jugaar pop-ups held a lot of amazing shows featuring south asian DJs in the city and all of them brought such a unique mix of music to the table
- my goal for next year is to go for more small, local shows in new venues and also just #discover new music in general
role model, march 18
- went with: kubra, ana + her roommates
- venue: mtelus, GA (first time going to a show there!)
- would just like to say that i've liked role model since he was writing cringe gay music about emma chamberlain and to see him this year was (embarrassingly) very full circle.
- main thing is he was just SOOO cutesy and charming and endearing and all these things that i wasn't expecting because he does not look like someone with good stage presence. i was glad because i wasn't the biggest fan of his new album so if the music was boring AND he was boring it just wouldn't have been a great concert.
- the crowd was also really fun which was probably why he was able to feed off everyone's energy :) i actually think the crowds in every single montreal concert i've been to have been pretty fucking great, everyone in this city is always hype max. the crowd started 'ole ole ole'ing halfway through his set and he looked thoroughly confused & geeked at the same time - it reminded me of last year when everyone did that at the olivia concert and she was so happy :)
- he is a good singer but i can't lie some of his slower songs lost me. i was there for the fun vibes and easily digestible pop - which he did serve!
- hearing sally live was very very fun and probably one of my favourite concert memories :) hearing blind with kubra was also so important because that was one of #oursongs in 2023 (speaking of cringe gay music)
- merch: bad and ugly, did not buy any
remi wolf, april 23
- went with: kubra & we got there way too early and stood in line in the COLD for whatever reason but we were very close to the stage so it was fine :)
- venue: mtelus, GA (much less packed than it was for role model lol)
- she was so so fun and ON and had the most energetic and infectious stage presence ever which i already expected but was so awesome to experience live!!
- i wasn't super familiar with the setlist but because her music is so upbeat and poppy i was able to dance/sing along to most of the music which i loved
- also shoutout to the opening band dana & alden who were very cool and serving alternative jazz realness. there was someone in the crowd who i think was a friend of the band and the second the opening set was over i overheard them saying "oh should we just leave now? idk if the next act is going to be any good :/" rip to remi
- other than^ that person the crowd was super fun too because it was mostly gay people and there was once again some ole ole oleing except remi took it completely in stride and was not surprised at all <3
- cinderella live was SO FUN and probably my favourite moment of the concert and in fact i loved it so much that i even bought the ugliest merch of my life just bc it had the lyrics on it
- merch: see above. there was much cuter merch that i regret not buying instead :( but at least me and kubra have matching shirts now
lucy dacus (w/ katie gavin & jasmine.4.t!), april 26
- scream. SCREAM. IF YOU KNOW ME YOU KNOW HOW I FELT ABOUT THIS.
- went with: kubra and we took the train to toronto and stayed at my friend's house for the weekend just for the concert
- venue: massey hall, GA (first time there and it was genuinely one of the most beautiful venues i've been to)
- OKAY. backstory to this. i was never a huge boygeniuser but then she released forever is a feeling and i LOVED it so much that i genuinely felt like i would die if i did not experience it live, so i apologised deeply to kubra for not listening to them when they first told me we should go get tickets to see her and we ended up paying more than we would've if we planned it earlier but it was fine bc we booked last minute train tickets and everything worked out.
- we waited in line for i think 4 hours? in front of toronto eaton center ONCE AGAIN IN THE COLD because april in canada is evil. but it was so worth it because we were RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.!!!
- what can i even say. she was so beautiful and her voice is so beautiful and i could sing along to every single song and with every song it just got BETTER and it was just. one of my favourite concert experiences of all time.
- there were so many lesbian couples there that i felt emotional and so happy to be able to experience it with my beautiful girlfriend #loveisreal
- i cant pick a favourite moment but hot & heavy is actually my favourite song in the whole entire world by anyone ever and hearing it live made me actually tear up in the first minute of her set. like. what the fuck. and ending with night shift was so haunting and fitting and perfect.
- also i forgot to say but KATIE GAVIN AND JASMIN.4.T WERE SO GOOD and katie is genuinely so sexy i didnt realise until she was right in front of me...
- merch: her merch is so so beautiful and i wish i couldve bought all of it and i SHOULD HAVE gone to the merch stand while we were waiting in line instead of waiting to go AFTER the concert because the only shirt they had left was in xxl. i still bought it though.. it has a car and its cute :)
saint motel, may 6
- went with: kubra (are you seeing a pattern here?)
- venue: theatre beanfield, GA seated because we went late and were tired
- probably the most nothingburger concert on this list but it was STILL very fun! saint motel used to be one of my favourite bands in high school & so many of their old songs are so important to me so even though i didn't know anything off their new album (which was honestly quite bad) i loved getting to hear my favourite songs :)
- the crowd was mostly dads and millenials which makes sense but the band honestly had quite fun stage presence! all of their music is so upbeat and easy to sing along to which was nice and made it a fun experience even if you didn't know the songs
- there were a lot of songs they played that felt very full circle to listen to but i especially loved a good song never dies / van horn because they made it to the top of my most played songs in 2020 LOL
the wrecks, may 11
- went with: kubra and safna, because we wanted to drag safna along with us to a random concert for the vibes (also ran into a random other friend otw there)
- venue: bar le ritz which is one of my favourite concert spaces in the city
- ok another wild card... remember the top songs from 2020 i mentioned earlier... my #1 song in 2020 was a little ditty called out of style by the wrecks. its kind of the worst song ever made and i loved it so much and when i found out they were coming here i had to see them or i would die.
- mind you i literally only knew 3 songs by this band and they are honestly not that good but me and kubra will do anything for the bit - and luckily it was a very fun performance!!! i can't lie!!!! the lead singer had some kind of autistic rizz going on and was oddly charming & endearing. again.
- they're very waterparks/wallows adjacent with a side of early 5sos energy esp in terms of absolutely atrocious lyrics set to pop rock. at the end of the day i love teenage dirtbag music
- favourite moment by far was singing along to out of style w/ kubra while safna watched on horrified. i'm still sad they didn't play james dean which is my other favourite song by them
- merch: i'm not that insane
lorde (w/ the japanese house & blood orange!), sept 28
- went with: nikhila & diya (my first ever concert without kubra.. :( )
- venue: bell centre, seated in the 100s
- ANOTHER CONCERT THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT AND FELT SO FULL CIRCLE. i loved virgin so much more than i expected to and i was so so happy she was performing the album in full. the album is so turned all the way down that i didn't know what to expect in an arena concert but she translated the music so well live!
- her stage presence is sooo good... she's like somehow so nonchalant yet charismatic and she's been doing this for so log but her eyes were so earnest... she gave a really emotional speech halfway through her set about friendship and community and finding love despite alienation and it was soo sweet :')
- her music is just SO iconic that it almost felt unreal that i was experiencing stuff like green light, buzzcut season, ribs, etc live. like she was THERE. and everyone in the arena was just truly embodying the music. the girls in front of us were lowkey sobbing the whole time.
- also THE OPENERS!!!! i was so happy to see japanese house bc i was so obsessed with her album earlier in the summer and her voice was so lovely live, it was just her and a guitar and beautiful melodic dream pop :') hearing sunshine baby live was so #healing
- i wasn't super familiar with blood orange before but my friends are big fans and his set was also so good, it has the same almost dreamy quality that i found a lot in the music i was listening to over the summer
- must be said that lorde is also so sexy... more than anything she is just sensuous... and so in tune with herself & her body. all of her choices onstage felt so right for the music and nothing felt gimmicky, it was all for the sake of her art
- favourite moment.. i don't even know... a world alone encore was SO amazing and beautiful and unreal in the moment but i can close my eyes and picture being in the moment all over again.
- merch: the most expensive merch i bought this yr but it was worth it.. i got the blue ultrasound tour dates shirt w/ the lineart of her looking at the solar eclipse<3
the beths, nov 29
- went with: safna
- venue: theatre beanfield, GA standing (i like the venue a lot more when i'm standing)
- 2 new zealand music acts in a row?! they're doing crazy things with music down there. the beths are another band i discovered this year and immediately fell in love with their new album - rock & roll is so back
- they were very good objectively and The Beth herself (elizabeth the lead singer who actually goes by Liz) was very sweet but none of them have much stage presence. it felt like they would rather be anywhere but on the stage LOL but i still had fun because the music was so good!!
- their bassist was probably the most #KeyedUp and he had little heart shaped tuning pegs attached to the head of his bass which i found very endearing. he was also the one that did most of the talking/bantering with the rest of the band
- it was a really good setlist and i can definitely see the beths becoming more popular in the upcoming year because they really did release an album with no skips at all
- no joy was one of my top songs of the fall and i loved getting to sing along to it <3 and i love guitar in my ear <3
- merch: i bought a shirt w/ the album art for straight line was a lie! i wore it to work the following monday and when i was at the cafeteria this man struck up conversation with me over it & told me his daughter went to the concert too, and we spent like 10 mins discussing his daughter's music taste and her influences on him which was so so cute and lovely.
other misc. local shows
- i got to see a LOT of different DJS and small bands this year which was really fun!
- i don't remember the names of a lot of the bands but they were mostly at barfly and ye olde orchard (small bars with live music acts scheduled throughout the week). a lot of them were cover bands but their energy was always so fun and reminded me why i love live music :')
- i also rediscovered my love for dancing this year which was largely in part to discovering DJs that are doing actually fun stuff with their sets and it isn't just the same 3 tired beat drops that you get bored of after like 15 minutes. jugaar pop-ups held a lot of amazing shows featuring south asian DJs in the city and all of them brought such a unique mix of music to the table
- my goal for next year is to go for more small, local shows in new venues and also just #discover new music in general
no subject
Date: 2025-12-15 09:30 pm (UTC)