grandson Plays Homecoming Show In Toronto With Rock Band MONOWHALES
BY KYLE MCNEIL
ALL PHOTOS BY KYLE MCNEIL
On July 19th rap/rock artist grandson played one of his biggest headlining shows of the year when he performed at History in his hometown of Toronto. grandson, who actually holds a dual citizenship, calls Canada his home even though he was born in New Jersey, USA and lived there in his early years. And the artist didn't come alone, bringing the Canadian rock bands MONOWHALES and No Love along with him. It's not easy to draw musical comparison with grandson as his music is a very unique blend of hip-hop and alternative rock, although he seems to tour mostly with rock bands and mainly gets airplay on alternative radio stations. However, some other comparable musicians that come to mind would be Linkin Park or Rage Against the Machine, who both have frontmen more comparable to an emcee than a lead singer. While, I don't think there is a definitive answer in terms of the musical genre the artist falls into, one thing is for sure — this Grandson is on the rise and people are taking notice.
MONOWHALES hit the stage just before grandson in a co-headlining spot. These two groups are no strangers to each other as they tour Canada together. Both artists also have Toronto as their home base so they would have the hometown advantage on this night. Coming off a very successful 2022, where they won the Juno award for breakthrough artist of the year, MONOWHALES has been touring for their latest album release "Tunnel Vision" which came out last fall. The group played a lot of music off this latest project along with their recently debuted singles. With a definitive 'alt rock' style and sound, MONOWHALES could have existed as a band in the 90's or early 2000's and have been just as popular.
A notable moment during MONOWHALES’ set was when lead singer Sally Shaar took the time between songs to talk to the crowd. She sat on the edge of the stage at one point offering the mic to a fan that wanted to get something off their chest. The young fan would take the floor and share a personal story about an unfortunate event that had recently affected their life.
The entire opening performance was well received by the crowd and brought the right amount of excitement to set the stage for the main event.
This History performance was grandson’s official homecoming event for 2023 and needless to say grandson would pull all the stops on this special night. The front of the stage had a special compressed air system installed that would shoot smoke clouds and sparkler like effects throughout the show. The stage set was dressed with a large canvas backdrop of a forest, a platform that contained a park bench with street lights and a street sign that read "I love you, I'm trying.” grandson slowly appeared on stage sitting on the park bench with his backing band taking their positions. The artist's set list consisted of tracks like "Darkside,” "Oh no!!!" and "Apologize," to name a few. He even played a special acoustic cover of the Bedouin Soundclash's song "When the night feels my song,” ending his show with "We did it!" and "Blood//Water," a massive explosion of confetti filling the room.
grandson is currently touring across western Canada until early August and is then scheduled to start a long European tour in the fall so be sure to check him out if he plays in your area.
