Pop Break Live: Jade Bird with John Vincent III at The Mod Club Theatre, Toronto
Words & Photos by Matt Di Paola
Jade Bird has been on many of the UK’s Ones to Watch, Emerging Acts and Breakthrough Acts lists since 2017. Her recent sold out show at Toronto’s Mod Club Theatre clearly demonstrated why she’s so popular across the pond.
She eased the crowd into the show with “Ruins” and then quickly tossed away her British awkwardness, to get the crowd bouncing up and down with the high energy of “Uh Huh,” “Good Woman”, and “Side Effects.”
Jade and her guitarist, Will Rees treated the audience to a beautifully haunting duet of Radiohead’s “Black Star.” She also took a moment to get the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to her drummer, Matt Johnson. And later on, she continued with the covers with an energetic take on Blondie’s “Call Me.”
Throughout the show, Jade’s polite British accent and sweet stories about the tour nicely juxtaposed with the persona of her rock and roll singing and strumming performance. The only time the two sides of Jade intermingled was when she introduced “My Motto” to the crowd with “This song is a fuck you song” – her first bit of edginess outside of her lyrics.
Her debut album as well as her Something American EP kept the crowd, singing along to favorites like “I Get No Joy” and “Love Has All Been Done Before” all the way through to her encore of “If I Die.”
I think this was the last time I’ll be able to see Jade Bird at a small venue in Toronto. Watch for her to breakout even more in 2020 in North America.
Setlist:
Ruins
Uh Huh
Good Woman
Side Effects
Play Video
Good At It
Play Video
Does Anybody Know
Play Video
Black Star (Radiohead cover)
What Am I Here For
17
Anniversary
I Get No Joy
Call Me (Blondie cover)
Hold That Thought
Lottery
My Motto
Something American
Cathedral
Going Gone
Love Has All Been Done Before
Encore:
If I Die
