Summer has arrived just in time for a heated show at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall on a Wednesday night. California hardcore band Drain made their Canadian stop at the city’s historic venue for their Good Good Tour. Featuring four openers from the hardcore community, the audience was ready to head-bang and mosh pit to a star-studded lineup.
Trail of Lies was the first opener, and they did their best to pump up the crowd’s energy as the first performer to step on stage. While lead singer Tom Dom laid out all the vocals with his vicious growls and the guitarist moved around, the other members were mainly laid back, playing their respective instruments. In the end, the energy wasn’t quite up there from the audience, as their set looked like a practice session atmosphere-wise.
Lineup:
Tom Dom – Lead vocals
JD – Guitars
Tom Core – Guitars
Tom Harris – Bass
Chris Smith – Drummer
End It was the second opener of the night. Lead singer Akil Godsey got the crowd going crazy as he threw the microphone to the audience to give them a chance to scream through the songs while conversing with them in between songs. The moshpit in the middle got more lively in End It’s set, so the crowd’s energy was slowly getting there for the second opener.
Lineup:
Akil Godsey – Lead vocals
Johnny McMillion – Guitars
Pat Martin – Bass
Ray Lee – Guitars
Chris Gonzalez – Drummer
The third opener was Scowl, one of the acts I had seen a few times. Led by frontwoman Kat Moss, she commanded the stage with her powerful screams and vocals while dancing around the stage with authority. The other band members joined in, feeling the energy of Kat’s performance. The crowd was moving from start to finish as Scowl pulled off an entertaining set as the third opener of the night.
Lineup:
Kat Moss – Lead singer
Malachi Greene – Guitars
Mikey Bifolco – Guitars
Bailey Lupo – Bass
Cole Gilbert – Drummer
Setlist:
1. Opening Night
2. Shot Down
3. Petty Selfish Cretin
4. Psychic Dance Routine
5. Wired
6. Dead to Me
7. Roots
8. Seeds to Sow
9. Retail Hell
10. Trophy Hunter
11. Sold Out
12. My Turn 2 Play
13. F**k Around
14. Four Walls
15. Bloodhound
The atmosphere reached its peak with the last opener, the long-standing hardcore band Terror. The front of the crowd erupted into screams from the start, and crowd surfing became a common sight. The energy was palpable, with the crowd’s enthusiasm reaching its peak for this band that has been rocking for over two decades.
Lineup:
Scott Vogel – Lead vocals
Nick Jett – Drummer
Martin Stewart – Rhythm guitar
Jordan Posner – Lead guitar
Chris Linkovich – Bass
Setlist:
1. One With the Underdogs
2. Spit My Rage
3. Stick Tight
4. Boundless Contempt
5. Return to Strength
6. Pain Into Power
7. Overcome
8. Can’t Help But Hate
9. Keep Your Mouth Shut
10. Keepers of the Faith
After a brief intermission with some of the crowd taking a breather, the members of Drain approached onstage. Frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro asked for brighter lights and the audience to go wild before beginning their set with “Hyper Vigilance.” After a few seconds of jumping around the stage while screaming through his vocals, he jumped into the pit and joined the audience, allowing them to scream their lungs out. I learned from Drain shows that they do their best to interact with the audience throughout their sets. There is a sense of family and comradeship with Drain and the audience, which is fascinating to see.
One of the highlights was Sammy getting the audience from the left to push the crowd to the right, which turned into a massive moshpit. It was a party from beginning to end, as the audience kept going wild for every song. The end was at a chaotic high, as the entire audience crowded over Sammy screaming and crowd-surfing in the final song of the night, “California Cursed.” The crowd was still buzzing after the show, as they couldn’t believe how fantastic the night was. Drain always brings the best in their live shows, so I hope they return for another entertaining set of hardcore music!
Lineup:
Sammy Ciaramitaro – Lead vocalist
Cody Chavez – Guitar
AJ Hoenings – Bass
Tim Flegal – Drummer
Setlist:
1. Hyper Vigilance
2. Devil’s Itch
3. Watch You Burn
4. FTS (KYS)
5. Evil Finds Light
6. Good Good Things (Descendents cover)
7. Weight of the World
8. Army of One
9. Sick One
10. Intermission
11. Feel the Pressure
12. California Cursed
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Andrew Wu is a music photographer based in Toronto, Canada. His work focuses on capturing and documenting special moments of performers during concerts and various events. His photos have been featured such as music publications in Spill Magazine, Imprint Entertainment, and Patchchord News. In 2020, he completed his BFA in photography at OCAD University.
Andrew is a massive fan of music, as he enjoys a variety of genres such as pop, alternative, rock, hardcore, and metal.