Apparently, the secret to being a successful R&B singer starts with the name. First name, one syllable, plain guy’s name. Second name, two syllables, a noun. Just ask John Legend and Frank Ocean. Tonight’s opener, Toronto’s Jon Vinyl, follows the formula religiously, with a sound somewhere between those two examples, though the slower beats and silky smooth delivery lean a little more towards Mr. Ocean.
With a minimal stage setup of just drums and keys behind him, Jon relies on a backing track of his own vocal harmonies to sing over the top of, which sounds pretty cool, as do a couple of drum solo interludes in the set that sample “Pony” by Ginuwine and “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, among others. By the time the 35-minute set closes out with “Star-Crossed” and “Addicted,” the crowd is singing along already. An early enquiry of “Do you guys like RnB??” is resoundingly answered in the affirmative!
Midway through her set, Alessia Cara introduces “Subside” as being about how much faster time goes by the older you get. She’s not wrong! I almost fall off my metaphorical chair when I see it’s been almost nine and a half years since the last time I saw her—an intimate show at Théâtre Corona just after her debut Know-It-All record dropped.
Now touring her fourth full-length, Love & Hyperbole, the vibe is very different. Alessia is no longer an 18-year-old kid in ripped jeans and a beanie, but rather a fully fledged soul singer in an elegant black dress. The stage setup is infinitely more sophisticated now too, with movie theatre-style curtains draped behind her and her four-piece band.
Alessia’s vocal range has only gotten stronger over the years, to the point where the Amy Winehouse comparisons are inescapable. New record highlights “Dead Man” and “Run Run” are perfect examples of this, her visceral vocal delivery sounding both strained and effortless at the same time, while her a cappella intro to “Slow Motion” is truly spellbinding.
Show closer “Here” starts in a similar manner, though the chill is obliterated the second the chorus lands and the drums blast off. Kudos to the guitarist too—that Van Halen-esque guitar solo to round off the timeless “Scars to Your Beautiful” was wholly unexpected, but absolutely massive!
She’s not just a vocalist now either. On songs such as “Get to You” and “You Let Me Down,” Alessia even rocks a Telecaster, giving bona fide Michelle Branch rock vibes, and she also strums an impressively bespoke acoustic guitar on “Clearly,” emblazoned with her name on the fretboard. It mixes things up nicely, especially during the course of a 27-song, 100-minute set, so things never get stale.
The crowd laps up every single one of those 100 minutes. The singalongs are deafening on “Rooting for You,” “Stay,” and of course, the classic “Wild Things,” where the mellow drums and bass are absolutely swamped by the crowd-contributed vocals. Honestly, it gives me goosebumps! “Drive” sets off a sea of waving hands, while “Best Days” and “Fire” ignite a sea of phone lights around a packed MTelus.
It’s unquestionably a triumphant return from start to finish—I certainly don’t plan on leaving it another nine and a half years until the next time I see her.
Setlist
- Go Outside!
- Dead Man
- Left Alone
- Run Run
- Voice in My Head
- Ready
- Rooting for You
- Subside
- Drive
- Get to You
- Best Days
- Out of Love
- Stay
- Wild Things
- Feels Right
- Somebody Else
- Fire
- (Isn’t It) Obvious
- Slow Motion
- Sweet Dream
- Growing Pains
- Apartment Song
- You Let Me Down
- Nighttime Thing
- Clearly
- Scars to Your Beautiful
Encore - Here
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Andres Amaya
