Concert reviews

Norah Jones musically solid but lacking in charisma

The Grammy Winner got in 12 songs from her new album Little Broken Hearts but seemed most at home playing country standards.   Norah Jones performs at Massey Hall in Toronto on Friday evening.   Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Sat Jul 07 2012 Ever since she exploded onto the mainstream pop scene with her jazzy multiple Grammy-winning album Come Away With Me, Norah Jones has been…


Aerosmith brings its history to life in Toronto

Well into their sixties, veteran rockers deliver the goods – with fewer gymnastics. Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published Thu, Jun 28 2012 The last time they were at the Air Canada Centre — August 17, 2010 to be exact — Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry knocked singer Steven Tyler offstage and into the crowd to retaliate for Tyler accidentally hitting him in the head with his microphone a few…


Sarah McLachlan with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra: review

Nick Krewen reviews the show as Sarah McLachlan kicks off her 13-date Symphony Tour Friday night at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published on Sat Jun 23 2012 Whenever you play with an orchestra, it’s good to remember that there are strings attached. It was a notion that seemed lost for the first half of Sarah McLachlan’s hit-and-miss two-hour concert with the Toronto Symphony…


Beach Boys reunion a rockin’ one

Nick Krewen Special To The Star Published on Wed Jun 20 2012 Few thought this night would ever happen. With a steady string of lawsuits, in-fighting and the fact that Brian Wilson only returned to the stage a few years ago due to his own personal demons, the notion of any full-fledged reunion of the surviving original Beach Boys was fantasy as best. Yet fantasy became reality last night at…


Rise Against rises to occasion once more

Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre, Rise Against, the Chicago four-piece punk band with a social conscience, fired up its an estimated crowd of 11,000.   Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Fri May 11 2012 They could have taken the easy way out. On the final night of its marathon Endgame tour — one which initially touched down last summer at Edgefest in Downsview Park —…