Showcase Day had finally arrived as all six bands made their way down to MuchMusic for sound check. Everyone got the opportunity to meet each other and realized that at least one person in most groups is sick. With this in mind, Greig Nori said his last words of encouragement before he headed to the stage to host the showcase.
Nightbox Has No Farts
There were some pre-show concerns for the laptop as James Shelly was worried that it may have troubles again. The band was up first for the showcase and they filled the room with their synth-pop music. Their set list included Bears, Pyramids, and Relocate You. Their montage of favourite moments included meeting and getting to work with Sebastien Grainger from Death from Above 1979 and Damian Abraham from F*cked Up and MuchMusic’s The Wedge. These lads had a lot of fun and what a traditional way to end their showcase with a bum crack viewing, courtesy of Andrew! Totally called that too, Jay!
Colorsound Gets Colourful
Like Antoine put it, the band has done their homework and it’s now time for the exam. The band had Nicky, her mom, and Chrissy Pearson from the Music Therapy Centre as special guests for the showcase. The band played second and gave it their all despite Eric being sick. Their set list included Don’t Stop Dreaming, You’ve Seen Nothing Yet, and Love Me. It made the boys very happy to see Nicky enjoying the show! Coloursound have come a long way with their music from getting radio play, meeting Séb from Simple Plan, and helping to change lives. Although it wasn’t good for Eric’s voice, he and the boys played a high energy showcase.
Brighter Brightest Feels True To Themselves
With Derek being sick, he was naturally very nervous about the showcase. The band played third and rocked it out, even with Derek’s voice sounding different. Their set list included Kiss, Everyday, and Right For Me. They were very proud of the last song because it represented them as a band because it’s real and honest. Their adventure in New Jersey has brought them to this very moment of playing the songs they created with Machine and the band wouldn’t have it any other way. Kyle can’t wait to show this to his future kids and tell them daddy lived the rock star dream!
Slow Motion Victory Puts Music First
These boys bought props, dropping a lot of bills for the two big banners! Chris Taylor continued with his rant about the band and looked out of place during the pre-show Slow Motion Victory chant. Their set list included Everything, Forever, and Life In Motion. Although this band has gone through many struggles and lots of drama, they put their differences aside for the goodness of creating music. Toby slid farther than he anticipated with his awesome move of a slide and ended the showcase proud.
Brett Boivin Brings The Cheese
It seemed like the cold bug had landed on Brett too as he warmed up with a raspy voice. His band brought a mellow type of feeling to the stage as a solo act. His set list included Love You For The Weekend, Don’t Even Mention, and My Girl. With his dad watching in the audience, Brett felt so blessed to be where he was and had a feeling that this was going to happen someday, no matter how cheesy it sounded. He has come quite a long way with dreams that started in Winnipeg and now living the musician life. Greig noted that this was the best that he has ever seen Brett play.
For The Weekend Wants To Touch Hearts
If you had told Jay that the band was to perform at MuchMusic a year ago, he would have kicked himself in the balls. It looked like déjà vu as their first episode started in the washroom and again, the boys have their pre-show talks among urinals. Dennis was freaking out, Jay was ready to explode when he sat down on the drum, and Colton was sick. The band had to do a lot of waiting around as they played last, bringing everything they had. Their set list included Let’s Go Tonight, Beauty In Me, and Home. Their goal was to touch hearts with their music and they definitely have as the boys proved through their rocky journey. They remembered having their ego checked at the Saddledome with Greig Nori, whcih started their desire to change. The quote of the night came courtesy of For The Weekend, saying “It wasn’t like oh, we’ve made it. It was let’s make it.”
Even though this was the season finale, it was definitely not the end of these six bands. Since then, For The Weekend fired Cody and have released their first hit, Rockstar, which is topping the charts in Calgary. Slow Motion Victory has gone through many line up changes with Chris Taylor and Kyle leaving the band, but was still able to release an EP. Nightbox got signed and have been touring all over the world with their next stop as the opening act for Lights on tour. Brett Boivin graduated high school, released an EP and is still creating more music. Colorsound got signed, went on tour, and is working on their second album while continuing with their goal of changing lives. Brighter Brightest also got signed and released their debut album, Right For Me.
Huge congrats to all six bands and here’s to the journey that is just beginning!