Canadian Music Week is known for a number of things, amongst them is their “club series” of shows. Shows are scattered throughout the city at various venues; not only are great musicians shown off during CMW, but also the spaces in which these musicians perform.
While festival veterans have probably been to most of the usual spots, 2018 brought the music underground, literally. CMW teamed up with the TTC to organize a showcase in Lower Bay Subway Station.
With space limited, capacity was strictly enforced and CMW wristbands did not give festival goers access to this special showcase. For this reason, tickets to the show sold out in the blink of an eye. Released in two rounds, the first 100 tickets sold out in a few hours, the second round sold out in a matter of minutes.
That tickets selling out so quickly could be attributed to not only the unique venue, but also the great line up. The bill included Scarborough rapper Tyriqueordie, techno DJ and producer E-Saggila, and art rock band Deliluh. Headlining the night was Toronto hardcore punk band Fucked Up.
Entering the station was fairly straight forward: Enter Bay Station and get on the platform. From there, show goers descend a long flight of stairs to the depths below. Flanking the platform below were two subway trains. Show goers could hang out on the platform or take a breather in one of the subway trains.
Kicking off the night was Scarborough rapper Tyriqueordie. Making full use of the space, his high energy performance got the audience moving and dancing early in the night.
Taking to the platform after this was E-Saggila, a DJ and producer known for their ambient, sometimes almost industrial techno tunes.
As music filled all corners of the platform, show goers nodded their heads and danced on the platform, or hung out in the subway train. Off to the side, one could find Toronto Mayor John Tory chatting with people, having turned up to show his support.
Toronto art rock band Deliluh came on next, with droning guitars, ambient synths, as well as saxophones and violin.
Closing out the night was hardcore punk band Fucked Up, who came out full force and never once let up on the energy. Frontman Damian Abraham covered as much platform as possible, belting out his vocals from on top of speakers, in the audience, and even hopping into the subway train on the side. The loud aggressive guitars drowned out the sound of the subway trains rumbling by in the functional station above.
See the gallery for photos of the show.
