Award-winning Marianas Trench frontman Josh Ramsay recently performed at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on May 25th in support of his solo album, The Josh Ramsay Story.
During the pandemic, Josh decided to put his focus on writing something that was upbeat, fun, and irreverent. In a true solo effort, Ramsay wrote, produced, and played all the instruments on the new album, with the exception of orchestral parts. And with that the album The Josh Ramsay Show was born.
The supporting act for the evening was Canadian pop singer Ryland James. Ryland performed bare-bones, just him and his guitar. He played a seven-song set and added the cover song As It Was by Harry Styles. I wasn’t overly familiar with this performer. But did recognize the first song Save Me. The audience, mostly comprised of teenagers and young adults cheered him on and occasionally you could hear girls screaming “I love you Ryland!” and “You’re so cute!” Ah, to be a teenager again!
At 9:30 sharp, the lights dropped, and out came Josh and his band. I really didn’t know what to expect, since I hadn’t listened to his solo album. I was aware that it wasn’t the typical Marianas Trench type material, but what followed had me very surprised. The style was kind of all over the place. Not specifically one genre. Some songs felt Jazzy, some Pop while others Funk. There were times when I thought I was listening to a score from a Disney movie, and other times felt like I was listening to Caribbean music. It was certainly entertaining, to say the least. Josh said he hoped people would listen to his new stuff and say “what the f*#k was that?” And in reality, yeah pretty much what I was thinking. He mentioned that he wasn’t sure anyone would listen or come and thanked the audience for attending.
Looking at the song list from his newly released solo album, he performed all but 2 songs. (Army of One and The Ballad of Cheeky Valentino). Of course, you had to expect at least something from Marianas Trench, and he didn’t disappoint. Josh performed a medley of Fallout / Who Do You Love and One Love. The crowd took over singing One Love and had Josh basically accompanying them.
Josh had a ton of energy that evening, running around and really engaging with the audience. At one point, a girl from the front of the venue pointed at Josh to which he joked “Pointing at me like someone who wants to wear me as a suit. I won’t make fun of you, or maybe I will”. His quirky personality really shined and he had fun with the situation. Someone else shouted, “You’re amazing!” to which Josh quipped “Of course, you have to say that because you’re my mom!”
He spoke about his experience writing the album and how he decided he needed a 153-piece orchestra. He talked about the challenges of making that happen, by having five socially distanced musicians perform, then the next 5 musicians, etc. He said it was a lofty idea, and very time-consuming. But it worked out in the end.
As he was ready to perform his last song of the evening, Lady Mine, Josh mentioned how all good things must come to an end and the crowd booed. They wanted more.
In retrospect, it was an entertaining evening, and the crowd was excited to see him perform. Josh is performing a few more Canadian dates. To see if the tour is heading your way check HERE.
A special thanks to Live Nation and Strut Entertainment for the accreditation.
Connect with Josh Ramsay online: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER
All images are ©Sue Hebert Sadzak 2022. Please do not copy or use without consent.
Ryland James
Josh Ramsay
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