April 19th 2022 will be remembered as the night Montreal got their first chance to see an absolute star from Bedford, England – the wonderful Tom Grennan. Playing in a very intimate room, Le Ministere in Montreal. Spoiler alert we saw a bonafide star in the making, paying his dues.
To warm up the crowd we had the honour of being introduced to the wonderful Monie. She had a short but vibrant set, her voice stood out on songs like Crazy and I Wish I Killed My Ex-Boyfriend. We look forward to seeing what’s next for this local artist.
The small room was buzzing with anticipation for Tom’s presence when he finally came on at 9pm and immediately went into If Only, the first track of his album Evering Road. From that first note, I knew we were in for a great time.
Tom’s set one hour set flew by, lots of fun was had. A few standouts for me were Amen, Sober and Make My Mind Up. Tom is very charming and charismatic on stage, conversing with the crowd throughout the set. He even let them know they were his “number ones”, and he was very aware of how he is tracking up the music charts and becoming a force this side of the pond.
Already a household name in his homeland, he loved performing for this small crowd, putting as much energy into it as he was in an arena or festival show. He couldn’t get over how hot it was in the venue, every time he mentioned it there were cries for him to take off his shirt from the ladies in attendance. He told them it would happen but not yet as it wasn’t appropriate for his slower song Don’t Break the Heart, to which a young lady behind me yelled “it’s ok, I love crying naked.” I couldn’t help chuckling, it was so honest and funny.
Finally he performed his mega-hit Little Bit of Love which has been streamed over 243 million times, an absolute banger of a track. He performed beautifully, bare-chested to the applause of all in attendance. Finishing up his set with a stripped-down version of Something in The Water, it was a fitting end to a great night of music.
Following our show, he travelled to New York City to perform at the Bowery Ballroom. Later that night, he was the victim of an unprovoked attack. We would like to wish Tom a speedy recovery and hope to see him back performing soon.
Review – Eric Brisson
Photos – Steve Gerrard
Watch our interview with Tom below:
