One night, two shows. That was the mission on December 14th, our last night in Toronto.
First up, we were seeing Dave Monks and Said The Whale again, on the final night of their Cascadia tour at The Phoenix. Having seen the tour in Ottawa exactly one week prior, we had already discussed that we would likely be ducking out early to head to venue two.
We saw Dave Monks’ full set – which I found myself enjoying even more this time around! Favourites from the set were Gasoline and Don’t Go Falling To Pieces. We then stayed for about half of Said The Whale’s set, eventually wiggling our way out of the crowd. I’ve only ever left a show early once before (Black Eyed Peas, which should need no explanation), and it felt like we were doing something sacrilegious. If we hadn’t seen the set the week prior, I honestly don’t think I could’ve made myself leave.
Over to the Horseshoe Tavern, where Hollerado was hosting an open mic night, featuring a handful of songs from themselves, a bunch of stories from over the years, and performances from many of their friends. Aside from the Hollerado performances, some stand out moments were Whitehorse, Little Junior, Stella Ella Ola, and Pup.
Also a first – two lovely Hollerado fans in attendance made hundreds of cookies that were passed around the crowd. They were delicious.
Once the performances were all over, Hollerado came back on stage to close out the night. Ending with Juliette, the song that started it all, a few tears were shed on the stage as the crowd sang the lyrics back wholeheartedly. When the song ended and the crowd cheered for one more song, Menno explained that no cover or additional song would make saying goodbye any easier. And with that, Hollerado truly played their last song before retirement.
They did hint at an annual charity open mic, where they would make an appearance, so I do have high hopes that I’ll be seeing them again, happily dancing along.
Until then, thirteen years later, Hollerado has called it a day and ridden off into the sunset.
The Concert Chronicles 