DOWN, Helmet and Spirit in the Room Pack HISTORY in Toronto for a Night of New Blood and Old Scars

Rain had been threatening Toronto all weekend, but by Sunday afternoon the sun was out. Doors opened at 6:30, and the merch line quickly stretched down toward the floor. Over 1,400 fans packed HISTORY for the Toronto stop of the Strap It Down Tour.

Spirit in the Room kicked things off at 7:30. The band leans into a genre-bending sound, blending heavy alternative rock, gothic touches, post-punk and noise rock into something that doesn’t sit neatly in one category. Their set included “Altar,” “Body,” “U R My Religion,” “Henry,” “Death Speaks To Me,” “Love Like Rats,” “The Future Is Immediate” and a partial cover of Bauhaus’s “Stigmata Martyr.”

Helmet followed at 8:20. Page Hamilton’s band has always run on rhythmic precision rather than spectacle, and that’s what carried the set. They tore through “Swallowing Everything,” “Renovation,” “So Long,” “Clean,” “Wilma’s Rainbow,” “Taken,” “Holiday,” “Give It,” “Vaccination,” “Just Another Victim,” “Milquetoast,” “Ironhead” and “In the Meantime.”

Neither opening set brought out any crowd surfing. That changed fast once DOWN hit the stage at 9:35.

DOWN opened with “Blood Oath,” the new single off the upcoming Volume V, due November 20 on Nuclear Blast Records. From there the set moved through “Lysergik Funeral Procession,” “Lifer,” “Hail the Leaf,” “Ghosts Along the Mississippi,” “Pillars of Eternity,” “Temptation’s Wings,” “Losing All,” “Swan Song” and “Rehab.”

Near the end of “Lysergik Funeral Procession,” drummer Jimmy Bower kept the beat going one-handed, stick working the ride cymbal, while he took a sip of his beer with the other. In front of him, his bass drum head bore the eerie all-seeing eye that’s become a signature part of his kit.

Anselmo told the crowd that “Temptation’s Wings” was the first song he wrote with the band, a small piece of history dropped in the middle of the set.

The drugs-and-consequences thread that’s run through DOWN’s catalog since NOLA was well represented, with “Hail the Leaf” covering one side of it and “Temptation’s Wings” and “Losing All” covering the other.

Anselmo performed barefoot all night, as he always does, working the stage and constantly engaging the crowd with thumbs-up, heart taps and fist bumps. His voice has gotten more weathered and gravelly over the years, which suited the heavier material well, and he pulled back into cleaner singing on “Rehab” and “Eyes of the South.”

The dual-guitar chemistry between Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein was a highlight all night, with Keenan’s playing on “Losing All” and Windstein’s work on “Rehab” standing out in particular.

By the time DOWN was deep into the set, the barricade area had turned into a packed wall of fans. “Stone the Crow,” the band’s only song to ever chart on the Billboard, brought that energy to a head and led straight into the encore.

DOWN closed the night with “Eyes of the South” and “Bury Me in Smoke.”

There was also a birthday moment mid-show. Anselmo mentioned that bassist Pat Bruders was turning 54, and the Toronto crowd broke into “Happy Birthday” on the spot.

Fans leaving HISTORY didn’t have much to complain about. Comments after the show ranged from “that show was insane” to “what a blast” and “what a fucking show,” with more than a few noting the vibe of the crowd itself as much as the performance.

With Volume V on the way this fall, the Strap It Down Tour feels like DOWN setting up its next chapter, one riff at a time.

A huge thanks to Liz Ciavarella-Brenne from Earsplit PR for the accreditation.

DOWN

HELMET

SPIRIT IN THE ROOM

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Drew Osborne

I’m Drew, the founder and editor of Front of the Stage. I have a strong love for music and photography, which started at a very young age. There’s just something I love about experiencing live music and capturing memories that will last a lifetime, and that’s how Front of the Stage came to be.