This past weekend my sister surprised me with an early Christmas gift to see my favourite band growing up, Down With Webster! I saw that they were doing a special holiday-themed 15th-anniversary reunion show for the end of the year and wanted to go and thankfully I was able to end this year of concerts (if you’ve been following the blog you know I have been going to many this year) with the band that started my love for concerts. In this review, I will provide info and thoughts about the band, what to expect at their shows, the venue, and much more. Make sure to follow me on social media (TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook) as I still have more concert recaps to write from this year and coming up in 2025! Watch the video below for a teaser of what to expect below!
About
Down with Webster is a rap-rock band consisting of Pat (Vocals), Tyler (Keys), Camm (Rap), Bucky (Rap), and Marty (Drums) that mashes up various genres to make a unique sound that is unique to them. I think I resonated so much with them as a teenager because it almost felt like a group of misfits who just loved different types of music that happened to be friends, come together to make relatable songs that make you feel something. It also helps that when they perform live their music somehow sounds 10x better, maybe because of their non-stop energy, crowd engagement and/or fun surprises throughout the set. I remember my sister snuck me into a campus fest for my 16th birthday to see them live because she knew they were my favourite band ever and it was one of the best moments of my life. They headlined the concert and it was so unique and fun from the moshpits to the crowd surfing and just the beautiful merge of rock and hip-hop. I loved that during this concert the drummer, Marty, did a drum solo which featured his first drum solo. When I first saw them live in 2010 he also did an epic drum solo where he mashed up “What is Love?” by Haddaway and “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine among other songs. I created a video compiling the clips from this concert and the 2010 concert below. Also fun fact about the band: they formed the band officially in high school with some members leaving before they officially signed but they were all on the same tee ball team as kids. At this show, former members Diggy (DJ) and Kap (hype man) reunited with the band on stage.
Venue, Tickets and Food
This is my first time at this venue, History, but I have always been curious to go. It is at the East end of Toronto in The Beaches neighborhood, near South Scarborough, and is co-owned by Drake. Usually, the tickets for the venue are really pricey but these tickets were more affordable although there were General Admission tickets for around $60, I wanted to get a proper seat in the mezzanine level since it was the winter so my tickets were a bit over $100 CAD each which is a great price compared to most shows at this venue. They sold out night one of their show and this was the added date, since there were a lot of seats left they actually gave away 100 tickets the day before to lucky fans. I enjoyed my seats a lot because I had enough space with a great view and I could eat my food comfortably. The exact location of the venue is 1663 Queen St East and easily accessible via TTC or driving. I recommend if you are driving pre-pay for parking ($20) across the venue or you can also pay for the Green P parking if there is space. In terms of food, I got the nachos (regular size – which is good enough) and pretzels. I will be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan of either, especially the pretzels since it was really salty and the mustard tasted a bit off. It was pricey but not terrible, but I was a bit shocked because I saw the napkins said “Food Dudes” which catered the Netflix x Outer Banks Fan Event I attended, and the food was good there.
Surprises and Gifts
As mentioned earlier, the show was holiday-themed with tons of Christmas decorations throughout the venue and on stage as well as special gifts and surprises throughout the show! Some of the gifts and surprises included Kap & Diggy reuniting with the band on stage, random Christmas gifts and boxes being thrown into the crowd, as well as Marty and Pizza Nova throwing pizza boxes to the crowd! However, what I thought was really dope was that they invited the all-women rock band, The Beaches, onto the stage to perform with them. It was a special moment because the girls of the group mentioned that Down With Webster being a group of friends from the same neighborhood they grew up in (The Beaches, Toronto) inspired them to form a band themselves and live out their dreams. It was definitely a special homecoming since the guys grew up a few blocks from the venue but to perform with another local band who came out of the same area as they did was the icing on the cake.
Merch
It was cool that The Beaches were also wearing some of the merch on stage when performing with the boys. The merch pricing was standard for concerts but the variety was cool as they had stuff specific for this concert but also special merch that celebrated their 15th-year anniversary including the Time To Win (one of my favorite songs of theirs) t-shirt and the camo trucker cap that had the XV patch on the side.
Overall
The concert had great energy from start to finish. They had Sunseto open up at 8 p.m. (doors opened at 7) who had a nice welcoming energy and vibe as a person and through his music. There are definitely some songs I will be checking out after. The guys came out around 9 p.m. and finished the set at 10:40 p.m. which was incredible since there weren’t really any breaks in between as they performed song after song including an unreleased song I know I will have on repeat when it comes out. I love the big orchestra band at the back with the various horn instruments and drums that just added to the overall madness and production. The stage was also decorated to give a nice homey vibe which is why there was a sofa and Nintendo 64 set up, and yup, they were playing it throughout the show without losing the interest of the crowd. Although I had seats, I was on my feet throughout the show because they really knew how to create such a great atmosphere through their music. I can only imagine what they have in store for future concerts.
This was an incredible performance and an emotional one. The guys were getting emotional because they felt the love after all these years and it was emotional for me, even though I hadn’t listened to them in a while, I was singing word for word like I was that 16-year-old kid again. I had such a great time and was reminded very quickly why they were my favourite band and why Timbaland and Gene Simmons had an interest in signing them and why Lil Jon was happy to invite them on stage as well. I know I had some regret not seeing their free show at CNE this year but I am happy I waited to see them again at this concert because the nostalgia, the feels, and the passion for music were all warped into their incredible performance. I highly recommend you check their music out and especially see them in concert if you can, truly is a concert like no other! Let me know your thoughts if you saw them live or wish to see them live and make sure to follow for more concert content on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook!