Monday, February 2, 2015

I Forget Where We Were

Ben Howard takes the stage at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario on February 1, 2015.
On Sunday evening as the first major snowfall blanketed the city I found myself in silent rapture as Ben Howard took the stage at Massey Hall in the Garden District in downtown Toronto. In between each song you could hear a pin drop as nearly 3,000 people waited with bated breath to be swept away on a musical journey by Howard and his five piece band. The sold out crowd of mostly 20 and 30 something's sat (and then stood) captivated for the entire 90-minute set.

Hailing from Devon, England, Howard humbly acknowledged how honored he felt to take the stage at Massey Hall, whose previous occupants include Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Rush and even Justin Bieber.

"Massey Hall... I've been quite looking forward to this," Howard said. "Last time I came to Toronto I played in a park. This is a bit more formal." Spotlights then lite up the three tiered balcony of Massey Hall, which were visibly filled to the brim. 

"Good evening, Toronto," Howard concluded, with a shy smirk playing on his lips.

A brilliant light show swept through the venue during "End of The Affair" the set's climax.




Howard stuck mostly to his newer material, playing his new album I Forget Where We Were in it's entirety. He also surprised the audience with some older favourites from his debut album Every Kingdom, including: Black Flies and The Fear. The climax of the set came three-quarters of the way though, with "End of The Affair".

"Now for a love song," Howard declared, before sinking into the seven minute long confession, about lost love and moving on. 

The song swells slowly, with an acoustic guitar and gentle strums on an upright bass, before building into a crescendo of complex drums, piano and haunting vocals repeated over and over:

This is it
This is just it
Go to him
What the hell, love?
What the hell?


By the time the band returned for a four song encore the entire venue was on it's feet, and remained standing until Howard and company left the stage for good.

If you haven't yet, check out Ben Howard's music here.

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