Dawes at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Pictures

Los Angeles band Dawes came through Toronto to play at The Phoenix Concert Theatre on a gorgeous night on July 20. These guys were unknown to me when I saw them at the first Toronto Urban Roots Festival (TURF) two summers ago and I vowed that day to make sure I saw them next time they came through town.

They opened the show with the tune "Things Happen" from their brand new album All Your Favorite Bands. Their set continued, hitting up tunes from across their discography and obviously tons of fan favourites. I've embedded my personal favourites below. Their songs are sometimes sad, but at the same time consistently uplifting songs about the human condition. You can tell how dedicated and enthusiastic their fans are by the fact that the audience completely took over vocal duties during a few tunes.

The musicianship on display is fantastic and I loved the guitar playing. The sound mix of Tele/Strat and Les Paul was awesome. The solos were heartfelt and engrossing. Seeing the well-loved, vintage axes was cool, too, especially the vintage soapbar Les Paul that Taylor pulled out for the encore. The band were never rushed or hurried. The groove was consistently laid down thick and was of primary importance. 

Check out some of my favourite Dawes tunes from their setlist.

Opening tune "Things Happen"

"Fire Away"

"Right On Time"

"Most People"

"A Little Bit of Everything"

"When My Time Comes"

"From the Right Angle" to close the main set

And all the encore tunes:

"Time Spent In Los Angeles"

"From A Window Seat"

"All Your Favourite Bands" The audience completely took over the end of this tune and technically closed the show.