Wednesday 13 – Celebrating 20 Years of Horror Rock on the There’s No Such Thing As Monsters Tour at Lee’s Palace, Toronto

It’s one thing to walk into a concert expecting a killer show—it’s another thing entirely to be swallowed whole by a night that feels like Halloween broke through the calendar and staged a rock opera in your subconscious. Tonight, Lee’s Palace turned into a living, breathing organism powered by distortion, eyeliner, and the kind of crowd you only see in dreams or the darker corners of a Tim Burton storyboard.

With over 200 fans packed into the legendary Toronto haunt, Wednesday 13’s return to Canada came with extra weight. His Montreal show two nights earlier had been axed due to border issues, turning Toronto into a must-not-miss event for both fans and the man himself. The sense of urgency pulsed through the entire night like a dropped vein of electricity.

And what a crowd it was. Goths in full regalia rubbed shoulders with punks rocking skyscraper mohawks and green alien knit pants—wool, even. If the apocalypse were happening in the basement of a rock club, this is what it’d look like. And every band on the bill showed up like they were the headliners.

I Ya Toyah opened the night like a futuristic siren summoning a battalion of machines. With laser gloves shooting beams across the venue and a performance that blurred the lines between industrial punk and post-human poetry, the one-woman army from Chicago made her Canadian debut one to remember. Her version of It’s No Good paid homage to Depeche Mode while bending it into her world of digital emotion and dystopian fire.

Her set, drawn from her I Am the Fire EP, was all flickering lights and urgent synths—like a solo rebellion disguised as a dance party. Fans flocked to her merch table after the set like she was a cyberpunk messiah. She met them all.

Dead Rabbitts, masked and menacing, came out swinging. Led by Craig Mabbitt of Escape the Fate, the Arizona-based metalcore outfit let loose with a blitz of sound from their new album Redefined. The set was aggressive, theatrical, and brutally personal—like someone turned heartbreak into a combat sport.

Oxygen and Dead Again hit especially hard, but it was Hellscape, featuring Mixi from Stitched Up Heart, that tore the house down. Bonus points to members of Stitched Up Heart for effortlessly pulling double duty across two sets. Spoiler: it’s not as easy as it looks.

Stitched Up Heart was next, and this was my third time seeing them—they keep leveling up. Mixi led her crew through a high-octane journey of loss, resilience, and unapologetic rage. Her guitar work on My Demon was simple but tactile, while new track Sick Sick Sick teased something darker and more primal in the band’s future.

The youngest member, drummer Delaney Jaster, held the entire set down like a veteran twice her age. Watching her live, it’s clear—this is not someone who plays the drums. She inhabits them.

Then came Wednesday 13. And everything changed.

From the opening moments of Look What the Bats Dragged In, it was like stepping into a B-movie dream sequence laced with venom and velvet. With the crowd chanting along, zombie arms raised, he commanded the stage like a haunted ringmaster. The set was packed with classics, cult favorites, and two Murderdolls tracks that served as both tribute and ritual—Slit My Wrist came with a heartfelt nod to Joey Jordison, the man who took him around the world 23 years ago.

A few songs were cut from tonight’s set compared to previous shows on this tour—no White Wedding cover or In Misery tonight—but no one seemed to care. By the time I Love to Say Fuck closed the night with its giant middle-finger umbrella prop, the crowd had fully given themselves over to the madness.

This show was a twisted carnival—equal parts haunted house and punk rock séance. A love letter to horror, misfits, and those of us who still believe that loud music can raise the dead—or at least make them dance. Lee’s Palace pulsed with the kind of energy that only comes around when the right band meets the right room at the perfect moment.

The first time I saw Wednesday 13 was at The Rockpile on September 23, 2016. That show made me a fan—but this one reminded me why I stayed one. It was easily the best I’ve seen them perform. After 20 years of horror rock, Wednesday 13 isn’t just still going strong… they’re evolving, thriving, and raising hell louder than ever.

A huge thanks to Taylor from AtomSplitterPR for the accreditation.

Wednesday 13

I Ya Toyah

Dead Rabbitts

Stitched Up Heart

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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.