Toronto is finally having its big moment in the entertainment industry and the light shone on it — particularly on Toronto’s vast and enriching culture — is something that Canadians are appreciative for. However, with that being said, there is definitely not enough attention on the rest of Canada. Ottawa native Night Lovell is a prime example of this. The once underground phenomenon has slowly yet surely been turning into a large commercial success after gaining mass traction on the Internet. The rapper has amassed himself a strong and loyal cult following shown by the numerous Europe shows he has been selling out — namely in areas such as Moscow and Budapest.
“Embrace Presents” once again hosted one of the summer’s most noteworthy events by bringing Night Lovell to Toronto’s very own Mod Club Theatre for an unforgettable show. The night happened to be the closure of Night Lovell’s Goodnight Lovell tour and also saw performances from accompanying acts Illy Miniachi and Lil Darklord.
To start off, the openers were able to grasp the attention of the audience fairly well. It is often common to see openers not being able to appease a crowd — due to the fact that the audience generally attends a show to see the headliner — however, this show demonstrated otherwise. Perhaps this may have been due to Lovell’s cult following immersing themselves in the content of the opener prior to the show, or Lovell and his team curating a very good opening act choice, the crowd was completely in tune with the openers. Illy Miniachi had the crowd’s energy high and even formed a very large mosh pit in which he jumped into himself. Lil Darklord carried a very strong stage presence as well, keeping the crowd well engaged.
However, when Lovell touched the stage, the dynamic of the crowd went from good to amazing. Lovell adequately came on to hard-hitter “Mary Jane”, a track that starts with a suspenseful intro and then immediately drops into an aggressive rage inducing song. This was perfect in demonstrating Lovell’s capability to rally his fans as the Mod Club quite literally felt like it was shaking amidst the jumping and excitement of the crowd. Hands were flying everywhere and the cheers of the crowd even overwhelmed the sound of Lovell’s vocals plus the background track at times. While starting from the underground and then making your way to the commercial spotlight is definitely a difficult route in becoming a successful musician, Lovell’s experience shows why it is completely worth it. Lovell’s fanbase — loyally developed from the underground rap scene — is truly amazing and lives up to all the hype that it was anticipated for. In fact, it was often hard to observe what was more amazing; Lovell and his own antics or the unified crowd.
Lovell’s own set was adequately long as well, providing fans with all the content they needed. He played a good mix of songs from recent album Goodnight Lovell along with playing fan favorites from Red Teenage Melody. There were no stagnant points or weak points in the show. Specifically in the sense that the energy never seemed to dwindle down despite how progressively fatigued or tired the crowd may have gotten from dispersing all of their energy. It was quite phenomenal to see the dynamic of a Night Lovell show from start to finish. Ultimately, this concert appeased to Night Lovell fans in every single aspect.
More likely than not, Lovell would have loved to end his tour in Ottawa as an ode to the city that housed his upbringing, however, I am sure that Lovell and his team loved every minute of this performance — just as the audience did. This show provided a phenomenal closure to the Goodnight Lovell tour and set in stone a good precedent for what is to come with the artist.
“Embrace Presents” continues to have a great lineup for summer concerts in Toronto. If you want to experience a show as good as this one, check out their lineup here.
Connect with Night Lovell on his Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
