Concert Review – Kittie (History, Toronto, ON, 07/12/2024)

Kittie’s first show in Toronto in ten years was an amazing celebration of the legacy of the band, of diversity, and obviously of our good old heavy music.

OPENING ACTS: Dear Evangeline and Vile Creature

I really want to understand what the hell is going on with traffic in the city of Toronto and surroundings. I left my place yesterday with plenty of time to get to History to see DEAR EVANGELINE, VILE CREATURE and KITTIE kick off their Fire Tour 2024, but due to all construction, rain and whatever else, it took me over two hours to get to the venue. Due to that driving nightmare, I missed the entire performance by Brampton, Ontario’s own Hardcore/Sludge Metal newcomers DEAR EVANGELINE, which was a real bummer as I was eager to see those girls live. At least we can all enjoy their self-titled EP on Spotify, and also click HERE to know more about such a promising Canadian band.

Another bummer was the fact that my buddy Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi didn’t get a photo pass due to some bullshit about “high demand for passes”, or something like that, but I was there as I had a ticket and I think I saw only ONE photographer apart from the band’s own, so I guess either the organizers didn’t want any external photographers taking pictures of the event (which makes no sense at all, as you want people to see those photos and get inspired to attend future shows, right?), or all of the ones who got the limited passes “didn’t attend the show”, if you know what I mean. Anyway, the photos in this review are a piece of shit because of that reason, and I almost though about not reviewing the show; however, I think Kittie still deserve a nice review because they kicked ass on stage on Friday.

At least I was there in time for St. Catharines, Ontario’s Sludge/Drone/Doom Metal beast VILE CREATURE, a non-binary duo who explores themes of veganism, LGBTQ, animal rights, and anti-oppression in their music, and let me tell you it was a dark and extremely heavy performance by vocalist Vic, vocalist and guitarist KW, and a special guest drummer who I knew nothing about. I have no idea about their setlist, but I’m pretty sure they played a few songs from their latest albums Cast of Static and Smoke (2018) and Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! (2020), both available on BandCamp and on Spotify, and all songs sounded insane. One of the best moments of the show was when KW took a few minutes to talk about how much he loves Kittie, that it was Kittie who inspired him to play heavy music after years not knowing where he belonged as a gay guy, and that he sports his Kittie shirt from the very first Vile Creature live concert. It was a very emotional moment for sure, and seeing KW and his Vile Creature kicking ass right before his favorite band of all time was truly inspirational.

Band members
Vic – vocals
KW – guitars, vocals

KITTIE

The fact that both opening bands had short setlists allowed London, Ontario’s Alternative/Groove Metal powerhouse KITTIE to kick off their musical extravaganza relatively early, at around 9pm, giving a feeling of a matinee to the whole event as they wouldn’t play past 11pm for sure. That would have been a good thing if traffic back home wasn’t another nightmare, but I won’t complain about it again. Let’s focus on the show, and what a show it was! Morgan Lander, Tara McLeod, Ivana “Ivy” Jenkins (holy shit, Ivy was insane during the whole show!) and Mercedes Lander were on absolute fire throughout their entire set, which makes total sense as their new album Fire in indeed an incendiary one. Needless to say, their 22-song setlist inspired everyone at the venue to slam into the circle pit and to have a wild time with all crowd surfing going on, making the girls from Kittie really proud of their local fans in their first show in Toronto in ten years.

Blending some of the most electrifying songs of their new album the likes of Fire, We Are Shadows and Eyes Wide Open with classic including Cut Throat, Spit, Funeral for Yesterday and Brackish, the quartet sounded tight, focused and mesmerizing, and when we thought the show was over after the heavy-as-hell We Are the Lamb, the band got back and kicked us hard in the head with a special encore with the songs One Foot in the Grave and Do You Think I’m a Whore, a nice surprise that caught everyone off guard and that turned up the heat inside the venue through the roof. Having said all that, keep an eye on their tour dates by clicking HERE, stream all of their amazing albums, including their new beast Fire, on Spotify or on any other streaming service, and don’t miss the chance to see those four Canadian girls live whenever they take your city by storm. I just wish I had better photos of the band to show you, of course, but you can’t win ’em all, right?

Setlist
Fire
I’ve Failed You
Cut Throat
No Name
Spit
What I Always Wanted
Sorrow I Know
Look So Pretty
Ugly
We Are Shadows
Into the Darkness
Eyes Wide Open
Severed
Funeral for Yesterday
In Winter
Vultures
Charlotte
Mouthful of Poison
Brackish
We Are the Lamb

Encore:
One Foot in the Grave
Do You Think I’m a Whore

Band members
Morgan Lander – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
Tara McLeod – lead guitar
Ivana “Ivy” Jenkins – bass
Mercedes Lander – drums, backing vocals

Metal Chick of the Month – Trish Doan

trish01

Trish, A Flower Of Flesh And Blood…

The Headbanging Moose is proud to announce that our Heavy Metal babe this month does not only kick some ass as the bass player of the all-female Canadian Alternative Metal band Kittie, from London, Ontario, but she also has a beautiful and motivational story of recovery in her life.

Although she was born in Gwangju, South Korea (about 270km from the capital Seoul), we can say that the beautiful Trisha Jai-Mee Doan, better known as Trish Doan, is a proud “Canuck” that built her life and career here in Canada. Trish joined Kittie back in August 2005 along with guitarist Tara McLeod. In addition to bass, she has also played guitar since the age of 13, and in 2006 she graduated from Sheridan College, earning a diploma in Media Arts: Film and Television Production.

However, after recording the digital EP Never Again, in 2006, and the full-length album Funeral for Yesterday, in 2007, with Kittie, she announced in mid-2007 she was leaving the band for personal reasons, being replaced by Jeff Phillips (Thine Eyes Bleed) during Kittie’s Sweet Revenge tour. It was only in the beginning of March 2008 that it was officially announced she had left the band due to the eating disorder anorexia-athletica-nervosa, which she had been struggling with for almost two years. After leaving Kittie, Trish spent some time at home with her parents recovering, before moving to Toronto to live on her own and work for CTV. She mentioned in an interview that one of the funniest moments in Toronto happened when she was walking down Queen Street and saw a girl with a Kittie T-shirt on, and then suddenly both stopped and stared at each other in shock.

Then back in 2009 she decided to move to Australia for a year to get a degree and try to surf, before moving back home in 2011 and start working for Corus Entertainment, doing some interactive stuff for radio. Our Korean/Canadian beauty sadly mentioned she barely touched a bass or guitar for the first two years after leaving Kittie, as some kind of post-breakup traumatic experience or like an emotional pain from having felt like she abandoned the other girls in the band.

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Fortunately, Trish fully recovered from her condition and was called back to be the bassist for Kittie in the beginning of 2012, when former bassist Ivy Vujic parted ways with the band. In order to get back to the band with full force, Trish had to start learning the songs from the two albums Kittie recorded during her absence: In the Black and I’ve Failed You. She mentioned that despite loving both albums, her favorite one ended up being I’ve Failed You.

In her free time, Trish loves going out for sushi with her bandmate Morgan Lander, the lead singer and guitarist of the band, and also catch up with the other members of the band as much as possible. She also enjoys doing some photography and web design for fun, and as she has never been that much into Heavy Metal, she has also been working with one of her friends on an electropop music project (maybe due to her Korean blood, as Koreans absolutely love this type of music).

And finally, Trish seems to be a body modification lover: she has several body piercings and tattoos, including a very special tattoo on her left wrist symbolizing Gwangju, the city in which she was born. However, it seems she’s not that brave when having her tattoos done, as you can see HERE. But don’t worry about that, Trish: we all know how painful a piercing or a tattoo can be, and we surely admire and respect you a lot for all you’ve gone through in your life.

Trish Doan’s Official Facebook page
Trish Doan’s Official Twitter

“I still play guitar in my spare time and since re-joining the band I’ve played a lot of bass. I missed it for sure and when I got back into jamming with the girls I realized how much I love it!” – Trish Doan