Caligula’s Horse + Earthside @ Le Studio TD▪

The friendly Australian lads from Caligula’s Horse graced Montréal with their presence on Sunday, February 4th, bringing a bit of that Aussie warmth to Studio TD. Sharing the stage for their Canadian debut was Earthside, and boy, did they throw down.

Earthside, a four-piece prog metal outfit, boasts a revolving door of guest vocalists. While relying on backing tracks for vocals, the band more than compensates with their instrumental prowess. A side screen projected stylized videos of the guest vocalists, adding visual flair to the performance. The keyboardist’s frenetic movements, switching from stationary keys to a keytar, injected raw energy into the set. Spotting a vocalist from the crowd, who had trekked from Ottawa for the show, added a personal touch, even if her part remained on track. The camaraderie among Earthside spilled over to the crowd, setting the stage for Caligula’s Horse.

Setlist:

We Who Lament
Pattern of Rebirth
Watching the Earth Sink
Let the Truth Speak
The Closest I’ve Come

With keyboards removed and a few apple boxes added for height, Caligula’s Horse took the spotlight, riding high on the promotion of their latest album: Charcoal Grace.

Jim Grey, the charismatic frontman, seamlessly rode the waves of progressive offbeats between vocal bouts, exuding a contagious positivity. The audience at L’Astral observed in rapt attention, the silence between cheers reflecting the serene atmosphere. In a light-hearted moment, Jim queried the audience about our temperature system, eliciting a collective sigh of relief when Celsius was confirmed, sparing us the mental arithmetic on just how chilly it was compared to Down Under. The performance was flawless, with no missed notes or slip-ups, proving they hit just as hard live as they do on record.