November 13th 2021, Bjork at the Opera House

I became a fan of The Sugarcubes when they put out "Life's Too Good" in 1988, a collection of eclectic and alien songs that were strangely compelling. It was an album that ran a gamut of moods and feelings, moving deftly between the joyful celebration of Birthday and the unsettling unease of Coldsweat with a skill that many bands at the time couldn't dream of. Over the course of the next few years The Sugarcubes released a handful of albums that challenged Pop ideals and aesthetics, randomly releasing tracks that were willfully obscure or brilliantly resonant until they broke up in 1992. 

You'd think that their break up would be the end of the story, but a year later lead singer Bjork released her first solo album "Debut", and, well, that kind of suggested that The Sugarcubes were the prequel to a whole different story. To say that "Debut" is anything less than a perfect blend of sounds and styles is an understatement. The entire album was immediately accessible and appealing, quirky yet connective, slick and sleek and thoroughly awesome, a bold new sound that laid the foundation for Bjork to be recognized as a significant and relevant artist who's distinct and unique work would continue to develop over the course of the next few decades.

It's impossible to imagine that she would have known where her solo career would take her at that point, but there was no question that Bjork was completely confident and sure of herself when she came to Toronto in support of the album. Her show at the Opera House was an excellent study in the mechanics of live performance featuring a complete run through the album along with a stunning version of Play Dead taken from a soundtrack that was released around the same time. She jumped around wildly during a spirited performance of Violently Happy, and during the instrumental parts in Big Time Sensuality she charged head first at her band members like a bull. It was a great show on a variety of levels, but most importantly it ably demonstrated Bjork's vast talent and creativity, one of her first steps as a solo artist on a unique and exciting musical journey that continues to this day...

November 4th 1993, Nirvana at Maple Leaf Gardens

As far as I know, Nirvana only came to Toronto for three gigs. The first was a club date at Lee's Palace in support of the "Bleach" album before Dave Grohl joined the band, and history and legend have conspired together to make that show kind of notorious, with bottles thrown and glass on the floor. I wasn't there but by all accounts it was pretty epic. The second show was at the Opera House around the release of "Nevermind" during that sweet spot in their career where people knew who they were but they hadn't quite exploded yet. My friend Brooke asked me if I wanted to go and foolishly I said no, but since then whatever excuse I might have had at the time is long forgotten to me and I've kicked myself repeatedly for having missed it. Brooke could tell you better, but I've heard that it was a pretty wicked gig.

But I did see them at Maple Leaf Gardens in support of "In Utero". Having missed the Opera House show I was determined to see them this time around, and they were every bit as awesome as their reputation would suggest. It was a short show, I don't remember it being any more than maybe an hour and a half with encores, but that hour and a half was packed with an impressive energy and passion. They played a dark and ominously heavy run through  Heart Shaped Box that built on all of the menace and paranoia of the album version, and All Apologies was a great song to end the set before the encores. The night was pretty evenly divided between tracks from "In Utero" and "Nevermind", with a couple of covers and one or two songs from "Bleach", a pretty solid overview of their career to that point. They didn't play Smells Like Teen Spirit, and more than a few people were grumbling about that after the show, but in hindsight it makes a lot of sense that they wouldn't have. Nirvana were so much more than just that one song, and the fact that they could play a great show without playing their biggest hit is an impressive testimony to the quality of their work and to their strength as a band...

August 20th 1993, Catherine Wheel and Slowdive at Lee's Palace

 

This show was one of those brilliant pairings, an excellent evening of Shoegaze bliss from two of my favorite bands from the 90s. I have no idea who came up with the idea of putting them both on the same bill but it was a pretty inspired choice.

Slowdive were magnificent that night. I had only recently gotten into them at the time with the release of "Souvlaki" so it was a great time for me to see them, right when I was most curious about finding out more about them. They played a shorter opening set but they were still magical, with the interstellar overdrive of Souvlaki Space Station and the jangly Pop perfection of Alison standing out as highlights. 

Catherine Wheel were touring for "Chrome" so they were wearing white outfits and the stage was awash with blue lights in keeping with the visual aesthetic of the album. Some would argue that Catherine Wheel were a bit too heavy to be considered Shoegaze, but their sweeping and space-y effected guitar sound totally earned them that distinction in my mind. It should come as no surprise that their take on Black Metallic that night was stunning and beautiful, a sweeping grandeur that I wish you could all hear for yourselves.

It was a great show and a great night. Often I try to weave in a story with these posts trying to share something more about me or about life or whatever, but sometimes it's just about remembering a great night, and that's all it needs to be. This is one of those posts, just remembering a pair of excellent performances by a pair of excellent bands...