Malcolm Todd Lights Up Le Studio TD

On a gloomy, rainy day in Montreal, Malcolm Todd lit up the Studio TD with the vibrant energy from his debut album, Malcolm Todd, bringing it to life just months after its April release. Before the show, I was wandering around in the city, near the venue, where about 6 people were already queuing at about 2 pm. Disregarding the weather, they were out there playing Uno and hanging out, waiting for the time to pass. I joined the queue with a friend, later on around 5 pm.  After spending about two hours queuing in the rain, it was quickly forgotten once we got inside the venue. The energy was high, and anticipation was vibrating through the floor.  The night got started off with opener Sophie Gray, a Toronto-based DJ. She kicked the night off with an hour-long set that matched the crowd’s energy and excitement. You could tell she was having a good time on stage, absorbing everyone’s energy in the room. Simultaneously, the crowd had as much fun, and the connection was electrifying. She also performed some of her original music, including a track named 'Fever' among others, which was just as impressive as the rest of her set. I immediately noted it on my phone to revisit after the show. When Malcolm finally strolled onto the stage with his band — four longtime best friends — the magnetic atmosphere overcame the crowd instantly, with fans singing his lyrics back to him like an echo of the deep connection he’s built with his audience over time with songs broadly described as bedroom pop, alternative and R&B. It was such a small show that he described it as 

a redemption from last tour, “this is by far the smallest venue we are playing of this entire tour. It feels like the Sweet Boy Tour, since I didn’t come here last time”. 

There’s something special about hearing music live, especially your favourite songs. It’s the only time you can feel the music like it’s flowing from the speakers through your body. The guitar riffs and beat drop in ‘Cheer Me On’ hit especially hard, and jazzier sounds like ‘Walk To Class’, making it feel like the song was coming to life right in front of us.  

As a newly discovered favorite artist of mine, I was especially eager to see his show and experience some of my favorite tracks from the new record including ‘Harry Styles’, ‘Make Me a Better Man’, and ‘Walk to Class’ — as well as older tracks like ‘4 Me 4 Me’ and ‘Mr. Incorrect’, (I’ll stop the list here, but it could go on and on). Before performing the third track,  ‘Who’s The Fool’ from his debut, he explained that he did not enjoy high school and considered getting a C more than enough, the track depicts how he strayed away from the scholarly path and instead, as the lyrics say, “[I] learned the guitar, through all of the noise” (‘Who’s the Fool’). I  was definitely not let down by his incredible performance, live runs and vocals, and I can confidently say that he’s officially earned a spot in my top five live performances, which means a lot coming from an avid concert goer! 

Passion and enthusiasm filled up the room. People had hand-made signs to hold up during key moments of the show, they had prepared gifts — which led to him trying on a pink, fluffy bunny-eared hat, and my favourite: custom shirts. One of them reads “4 me 4 me” and the other “2 you 2  you”, worn by a couple, referencing the track ‘4 Me 4 Me’ from the Sweet Boy EP. While there were plenty of die-hard fans, it was also a night of introduction to Malcolm Todd for many. Talking to people around us, we found that lots were only somewhat familiar with his work, but came for the vibe and left absolutely wowed. 

We shared a walk to the metro, filled with joy and a memorable night of unifying energy, leaving on a high that I will gladly be living off of for all of next week!