British rock band ALT-J played the first of two live shows in Toronto on November 20th at the History concert venue. The pair of shows would be the group’s only Canadian stop during the ‘An Awesome Wave 10th Anniversary Tour’ in 2023. The tour is of course the celebration of the band’s debut album titled ‘An Awesome Wave’ which was released back in 2013 and produced hit singles such as ‘Fitzpleasure’ and ‘Tessellate’ which both saw regular radio air play in North America. Joining Alt-J on the tour would be the American indie-rock band Meagre Martin who was opening up the show for most of the tour dates including Toronto. I’m sure this indie group was elated to have won the opening slot for the string of dates which included getting to play top venues like History. During the opening performance Meagre took a moment between songs to exclaim how excited she was to play north of the boarder in Canada for the first time ever. 
The three piece alternative rock band from Leeds released their most recent album ‘The Dream’ last year in 2022 which they also made an appearance in Toronto during the album’s promotional tour. Fast forward to November 2023 and Alt-J would once again begin another North American tour but this time it was to celebrate their landmark project from a decade earlier that changed the band’s trajectory in music forever. As a special thank you to all the fans that supported the group over the past 10 plus years Alt-J would play the album ‘An Awesome Wave’ in its entirety from start to finish – even taking the stage to the sounds of the album’s intro. After the performance of the album was concluded the band would go on to play another ten songs which contained a mix of new and old hits that resonated well with the fans in attendance. The concert would finish with the regular encore with the two songs ‘Hard Drive Gold’ and arguably the band’s biggest hit ‘Left Hand Free’. 
Whether you love or like Alt-J one thing that is for sure is that this band has developed a sound of their own which is something that is lacking in today’s music scene. The live presentation is like none other as the group provides an immersive experience of light and sound that is extremely satisfying to the fans privileged enough to witness it. Some have described Alt-J’s musical style as “art rock” because of its experimental nature which could be valid in some people’s opinions but its all a matter of perspective of course. What is true is that we need artists like this to continue pushing the boundaries and limits when blending music with new computer and lighting technology. It’s fascinating to think about what a show like this could look like in another 20 years – perhaps Alt-J could be seen as the ‘Pink Floyd’ of the 2020s.
Enjoy the below Alt- J photo gallery from Toronto on November the 20th at History. Also check out the short video clip of the band playing their song ‘Fitzpleasure’ live in Toronto via the Musik Mirage YouTube channel. Lastly, be sure to follow Alt-J on Instagram for all future news and updates @unrealaltj.
Article & Photos By Kyle McNeil (@trueaspectmedia)
