Guitar

Lucinda Williams gets stellar assistance at Massey Hall: review

The alt-country darling had to read her lyrics from a binder, but her top-notch backing band more than filled in any gaps in her memory. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Fri Nov 21 2014 Lucinda Williams 3.5 stars At Massey Hall, Nov. 20. What on earth is going on with Lucinda Williams? That’s the first question the good denizens of a half-filled Massey Hall were probably asking themselves on Thursday…


Chrissie Hynde turns back the clock: review

In concert at Massey Hall on Thursday, The Pretenders founder seemingly hasn’t aged a day since 1978. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Fri Oct 31 2014 Chrissie Hynde 3 stars At Massey Hall, Oct. 30   Dorian Gray, eat your heart out. Anyone attending the opening night of Chrissie Hynde’s Stockholm tour at Massey Hall on Thursday night could be forgiven for doing a double take and wondering where exactly…


Ed Sheeran delivers an A+ show at the ACC

Ed Sheeran performs as if every show is his last, injecting his songs with an elevating jolt above what is heard in his recordings. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Fri Sep 19 2014 Ed Sheeran Air Canada Centre Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014 The singer and songwriter of “The A-Team” brought his A-Game to the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night. British ginger-haired dynamo Ed Sheeran is unlike any other contemporary…


KISS and Def Leppard a blazing double bill: review

Both bands repeatedly thrilled the sold-out Amphitheatre crowd of 16,000.  Nick Krewen Music, Published on Wed Aug 13 2014 KISS and Def Leppard 3.5 stars At the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Aug. 12. Does Gene Simmons’ fire-breathing swordplay, bloodied mouth shtick and ever-undulating serpentine tongue ever get old? Not if you’re a member of the KISS Army. The larger-than-life, cartoon-costumed, makeup-sporting hard rockers have entrenched the routines so heavily into their…


Mötley Crüe shout at the devil one last time

The band’s All Bad Things Must End tour gave Toronto fans quite the send-off last night. Opener Alice Cooper gave a masterful performance, too. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Mon Aug 11 2014 Mötley Crüe/Alice Cooper Molson Canadian Amphitheatre Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014 3 stars If the All Bad Things Must End tour is truly the final hurrah for Hollywood heavy-metal mavens Mötley Crüe, then that was quite the send-off…