Another sold-out show at MTelus, and this venue was packed to the brim with people anticipating the performance. To kick off the night, a DJ took the stage, mixing various popular hip-hop tracks to get the crowd riled up. It’s always a ton of fun to hear every single person in a packed venue belt out the lyrics to widely loved songs.
This DJ ran across the stage, offering $100 to anyone who would grab a microphone and sing along to the song playing for the entire venue to hear. A good few people took up the opportunity, and I sure hope they got their money afterwards!
People were already dancing and having a great time before the headliner even got on stage, which is a great sign for a memorable show. After about 35 minutes, the DJ announced that they had a surprise guest in the building who was ready to perform a quick set for the crowd. He got everyone hyped up, and out came Swavy (AKA Lone Wolf), an up-and-coming Canadian artist.
Swavy was a great performer. He really engaged with the crowd and encouraged them to really listen to his lyrics as he sang. A good number of people in the crowd were already familiar with his discography. They sang along to his songs while he danced on stage.
He spent a moment speaking to the crowd, looking to connect with them. He told us about being from Toronto and that he had multiple people tell him that Montreal’s energy would surpass that of his own city. Of course, this brought the audience to cheer, and they went all out for his set.
Everyone danced and cheered as he performed his tracks, such as “Side Eye” and “Old Ways,” and by the end of his set, Swavy admitted that he adored Montreal’s energy. He stated that we had proved his friends right, which earned a great cheer filled with love from the crowd.
After Swavy’s short set, the DJ—whose name escapes my mind—got back to his turntables for round two. I could not begin to describe the energy in the room. Every single person was super engaged with his set, singing so loud you could barely hear the track he was playing.
He brought us through a journey, asking questions like, “Are there any newly single women here tonight?” or “Who here hates their ex-boyfriend?” before playing the most appropriate song for the question. He even got the crowd to say happy birthday to all the Leos in the room, which I really appreciated because my birthday is coming up. He truly kept the energy high as everyone waited for PARTYNEXTDOOR. Every song he played, old or new, was a banger and a total hit with the crowd.
As the performers got ready on stage, “I’m a Legend” by Drake was blasting through the speakers. The song faded into its ending, and the introduction to the set began. Beautiful visuals were displayed on the screen at the back of the stage, giving the band members a perfect silhouette.
Every single person had their phone pulled out and already recording as they anticipated catching the very moment PND made his entrance on stage. And the moment he appeared was the very instant that I regretted not bringing ear protection. I have been to many shows over the years, and I am confident in saying that this one was the absolute loudest I’ve ever been to in my life. It surpassed any hardcore show I’d been to as well!
The music being played was extremely loud, but the cherry on top was all the screaming that bounced off the walls and attacked my ears. I could barely hear PND’s voice throughout the entire show, which is a shame, ’cause I know he has a good live voice. I probably couldn’t escape the sheer volume even if I tried to hide from it outside.
Despite the qualms I had with everyone’s constant screaming, the show was pretty impressive. The volume was a clear indication of the crowd’s excitement. Every lyric was being screamed out at the top of everyone’s lungs, no matter which song it was. While I feel like PND could’ve had a bit more energy on stage, the four dancers performing alongside him were just incredible. They moved with perfect grace and didn’t miss a single beat; they really made the show a lot more interesting.
The visuals on the screens were really pretty as well. They changed for every song, and the lighting colours followed suit with the theme. The vibe was consistently sensual, which is to be expected from an artist like PARTYNEXTDOOR.
His setlist was built up of great songs such as “Sorry,” “But I’m Outside,” “Break from Toronto,” and even stuff from all the way back in 2016 like “Not Nice.” It was really interesting to hear the live renditions of all these songs. PND had a drummer, an electric guitarist, and a keyboardist in his live band to help give a little more flavour to his performance.
And these musicians were really talented. The guitarist knew exactly how to set the mood, and his added solos brought a new texture to the setlist. His playing worked really well with the keyboardist, whose fingers danced across the keys as if it were so easy. The drummer caught my eye, though, and really impressed me. Even during slow and passionate songs, he beat the hell out of those drums and kept the rhythm to the perfect pace.
The vibrations from the bass shook the building so violently that it tickled my feet, and the weed in the air tickled my nostrils. The crowd’s constant screaming threw off the vibe a little bit, in my personal opinion, but as I looked around, no one seemed to really give a damn. Everyone looked like they were having the best time of their life, which is really the most important part of a show. That, and bringing ear protection.
PARTYNEXTDOOR didn’t have an encore, but he did perform a good 3–4 covers on top of his entire setlist, which was a lot of fun. He covered some Rihanna, some Drake—artists he’s worked with before and is relatively close with.
Before we all knew it, the show was over, and PND took his leave. I heard people talking about how much fun they had while walking to my car, along with the ringing reverberating through my ear canal. It’s not every show you go to that teaches you a valuable lesson, and I guess I have that to thank PND for.
Review – Jamie Siddall
Photo – Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images
