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If you’ve been following me you may have picked up that I usually try to do something monthly or weekly every year. In 2022 I read a new book each month and in 2023 I showed different vinyl LPs in my collection weekly. This year, I wanted to go to a concert every month because I love music and concerts but I also wanted to connect with different fans across the globe and continue to help other fans going to see these artists at upcoming shows with my reviews. I technically didn’t go to a concert each month but I did make up for it and ended up attending 14 different concerts in 9 different venues in 3 different cities which included two hi-touch moments with the artists and two homecoming shows. I have already posted some of these and will talk about them in more detail in the future, but please read below for my recap and follow me on social media (TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook) for more music and concert content! See below for a preview of what you can expect below!
January
- Number of Concerts: 1
- Artist: Snotty Nose Rez Kids
- Location: Biltmore Theatre, Oshawa
- Thoughts: I talked about this in more detail in my blog post about this concert but I loved that I was able to see them live and it was great to go to a new venue and be surrounded by fans who I don’t usually see at the other concerts I go to. Read the full post.
February
- Number of Concerts: 1
- Artist: Burna Boy
- Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
- Thoughts: After many years of listening to Burna Boy I finally got to see him live and it was great. I love how he had so many elements (storytelling, visualization, live band, etc.) incorporated throughout his whole set. The only drawback was that it started really late and in the Canadian winter, you are already tired as is from the weather. Read the full post.
March
- Number of Concerts: 1
- Artist: Priya Ragu
- Location: Velvet Underground, Toronto
- Thoughts: As a fellow first-gen Tamil kid whose background is also from the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, Priya’s music connected with me on so many levels also because she and her brother, Japhna Gold, make amazing R&B/dance/hip-hop music that incorporates Tamil music and culture. She sang so well (sounded just like how she did when listening to her vinyl) and provided a great vibe throughout the entire show. I can’t wait to see her perform at bigger venues because her talent is incredible and I will be writing a proper recap of her show in the near future. UPDATE: the blog post review is now published. Read the review.
May
- Number of Concerts: 1
- Artist: P1Harmony
- Location: Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto
- Thoughts: This was a concert I was curious about because I will admit I wasn’t a P1eace (P1Harmony fandom name) earlier in the year but I always loved watching the funny clips of Keeho (P1Harmony’s leader) Jiung (my bias from the group besides Keeho). However, I was always in awe of Keeho’s incredible vocals and liked a few P1Harmony songs. Therefore, I wanted to still check this concert out to support Keeho since this was also a homecoming concert since he was born in Toronto and grew up in Markham. Safe to say, I became a huge fan of the entire group shortly after (technically a bit before), and although I just came back from my grad trip (LA, Singapore, Malaysia) their energy and talent never once made me feel overwhelmed. Read the full blog post review. Next time I see them, I hope Jiung will be able to come as well!
June
- Number of Concerts: 2
- Artists: Maroon 5 and Itzy
- Locations: Budweiser Stage, Toronto, and The Theatre at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto, Etobicoke (Toronto)
- Thoughts: The first of the June concerts was Maroon 5 (June 25) which was a fun experience even though I am not a fan of the venue but it was $50 for a great view of the band plus free food and drinks, I even got to see Sunday Morning live! I meant to write about that as well and maybe I will soon but it was great to see a band I used to listen to when I was younger and I can tell they were happy to be back in Toronto to perform. Itzy was interesting because this was the first-ever K-pop girl group I saw live and my first time at this venue. The tickets were pricey, especially for the venue. I wish Lia had been there since she lived in Toronto for a few years and she is also a bias of mine besides Ryujin. Given everything this group has gone through I am happy I was able to see them at this time and hopefully, they can get a better venue next time when they return with all five members. Read the full blog post.
August
- Number of Concerts: 1
- Artists: Ateez
- Locations: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
- Thoughts: This was my favourite concert in Toronto this year and so far, favourite K-pop concert in Toronto! I love how everything was considered to give the fans the most enjoyable experience from the exclusive city merch, the fan pre-party, and dedicated menu items to the incredible show filled with exhilarating production, choreography, and passion from start to finish. These guys had such an amazing year and truly deserve it, happy to be an Atiny that can appreciate and support them. Read the full blog post.
September
- Number of Concerts: 2
- Artists: Usher and BamBam
- Locations: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, and Global Kingdom Ministries, Scarborough (Toronto)
- Thoughts: I’ll start with BamBam. He’s a Thai K-pop idol who I’ve seen memes of for years now on his own or part of Got7 and I also watch his YouTube show. I really did love his new album and felt like he found his sound with this project so I was excited when I saw that he was coming to Toronto but I wanted to wait for prices to go down because it was much higher than it should be. I eventually got tickets at the door for only $10 cheaper. I’ll eventually do a post about this but there were a lot of things wrong that went on with the concert, not because of BamBam but the promoters, from the venue changing the day off to items still not being given as promised. I’m happy I went because he was positive throughout despite all the disappointments and I was able to give him a high five on my way out. UPDATE: Blog post review is now published, read the review. Usher was also a last-minute purchase even though I wanted to see him since the tour was announced. I missed out on the initial release date so the resale prices were ridiculous but thankfully new seats were released the day of for a decent price so I got it and was able to see someone I loved listening to as a kid live. He was incredible and defines what it means to be a true performer! Read the full blog post.
October
- Number of Concerts: 1*
- Artists: The Arkells
- Locations: Toronto Event Centre, Toronto
- Thoughts: I was debating not including this only because technically this ended up being a free concert because Arkells was playing a bunch of songs as part of the special Netflix x OuterBanks Fan Event I was fortunate enough to attend. Love their energy and although I don’t really listen to them, I still appreciate their music especially because they were very adaptive and played a variety of different music to keep the audience engaged whenever they performed.
November
- Number of Concerts: 3
- Artists: Seventeen and Moon Byul (of Mamamoo)
- Locations: BMO Stadium and Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles.
- Thoughts: This was my busiest month for concerts and it wasn’t even in Canada! I still can’t believe I was able to attend three concerts while on my trip to LA. I will post about Moon Byul in the future but this was the second hi-touch experience I had at a concert and funny enough, only four days after high-fiving members of Seventeen (SVT). Mamamoo was the only girl group I listened to at one point and they never came to Toronto but when I saw that she would be performing while we were in LA I figured it would be a great opportunity. She was awesome, her merch was phenomenal and I am happy I was able to see her at her first USA solo concert. Ironically, I had a sign that said I came from Toronto and when she read it she was a bit confused (maybe just processing it or maybe why I wouldn’t see her in Montreal) but she did perform a beautiful rendition of “One Less Lonely Girl” by fellow Canadian, Justin Bieber! As for Seventeen, that was the main reason I went to LA (and USC homecoming) and although we initially had tickets for Day 1, we also got tickets to Day 2 last minute since it was on the floor and ended up being cheaper than the day 1 tickets. I need to do a proper recap video of my concert experience for both nights but I did write up my detailed review that recapped the 10/10 shows (both nights tied for favourite concert of the year) as well all the cool things they had going on in LA for SVT! Read the blog post.
December
- Number of Concerts: 1
- Artists: Down With Webster
- Locations: History, Toronto
- Thoughts: Last but not least, I ended the year of concerts with the concert that started it all for me 14 years ago. Down With Webster was my favourite band as a teenager and I even included footage from that show I was a little too young to attend in my recap video above but man was this show amazing. It was a 15-year anniversary show and they played a lot of throwbacks and although I haven’t listened to them in a while, I was singing word for word like I was 16 again. It was emotional for the band and fans like me, but a great time overall! Read the full blog post.
Overall
All in all, I am beyond blessed and grateful to have attended all these concerts this year and I will be attending a few next year. I will work on the remaining recaps and I hope it helps others who plan on seeing these artists in the future or just enjoy reading these posts. Please let me know if you attended any of these concerts or plan on seeing any of these artists in the near future in the comments below or on social media by following on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook!