Opera Canada

I have been picking shows not only for the bands but also for the venue, specifically ones I haven't been to for a while and may never revisit. So on Tuesday, I walked through Leslieville along Queen St. East to get to The Opera House.

Most all-ages show are full early for the opener and this one was no exception. I stepped inside as Aussie Alex Lahey was wrapping up her first number. She wasn't a stranger to Canada though, and many in the audience knew her as well. Lahey remarked that every time she returned, Toronto felt like the cooler, gayer sibling to Melbourne. Songs like I Love You Like a Brother, Spike The Punch, Everyday's The Week-End were bright, catchy pop-punk that kept the energy high. Even Faith Hill's This Kiss got the punk treatment. Lahey whipping out the alto sax was the cherry on top.

The Regrettes opened with their latest single Anxieties ("Knock me down/I won't back down") which, along with new songs like Monday and Barely On My Mind, were more mainstream pop. But they still retained the punchy, jangly touches from older numbers (Lacy Loo, I Dare You). Given this garage/pop-punk beginnings, The Regrettes covered Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend.

Frontwoman Lydia Knight didn't play guitar as much as before though she did book-end the set with a few numbers on it. That gave her free rein to dance around the stage and interacting with fans. The latter were mostly teenagers, who encouraged early on by Knight, danced and moshed all night. They also gifted her with a "signed" Canadian flag and heart cut-outs with personal messages. When polled, it seemed that the majority of the audience weren't at their last show at the smaller Velvet Underground. Odd because that concert was packed as well.

The oldest Regrettes fan was a dude with a luxuriant white beard who knew all the lyrics. The youngest looked to be about 12 and ecstatic though her 8-year-old brother suffered through the night with his fingers jammed into his ears. Hey dad, what were you thinking? Buy some earplugs! I wondered what dad thought of the encore Seashore which was both empowering ("Hey I've got news, I'm not a little girl") and profane ("I'm like nobody else, so you can just go fuck yourself").

14/05/2022: It turns out this was the last gig of the tour. Lydia Knight suffered stomach pains later that night and needed her appendix removed the next day.