Dismembered Thrills: Alkaline Trio Bring Their 'Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs Tour' to Toronto with Drug Church
Photo: Steve St. Jean
Chicago punk-rock veterans Alkaline Trio brought their Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs tour to History in Toronto on March 12th, 2024, with support from Albany's Drug Church and Brooklyn's Worriers.
We made it to History just as Drug Church hit the stage with their infectious and crowdsurf-inducing post-hardcore pierced through the venue's speakers. Vocalist Patrick Kindlon, with his trademark raspiness, yelled furiously, pacing back and forth on stage as he egged the audience, wanting even more enthusiasm from the fans. The rest of the band (Nick Cogan and Cory Galusha on guitars, Chris Villeneuve on drums and Patrick Wynne on bass) held down their respective areas on stage as Kindlon marched about and spread nothing but good vibes. When he wasn't pausing the show to create a safe space for fans (two people were being crushed against the barricade), he was calling on more bodies to be lifted into the sky and corralled fans into a frenzy as they moshed harder and harder. He was so dead-set on getting the fans moving that he hilariously started calling out people in the pit:
"Flannel. Do. You. Understand?!
Hesher with the long hair. Do. You. Understand!?
Into his arms! Into his arms! Into his arms!" he yelled
"Come over and say hello!"
He demanded crowd surfing, ensuring that the security at the front of the stage would catch them (you know, because the security guard looked like a "stand-up guy," according to Kindlon).
Drug Church performed a powerful performance featuring a healthy dose of positivity combined with pure madness in the best way possible as silhouette bodies soared across the tops of hands closing out their set.
Alkaline Trio was up next and didn't waste any time. The band, dressed in suits and ties, came out swinging with "Hot For Preacher," "We've Had Enough," and "Take Lots With Alcohol." They ripped through the first three songs, amassing screams and shouts from the crowd with full smiles in return from frontman Matt Skiba and bassist Dan Andriano. They took a split second to say it was great to be back north of the border and proceeded to slay more bangers from their vast discography. Notably, drummer Atom Willard, who joined the band in 2023, was draped in shadows, dominating his drum kit and helping to pump pure adrenaline into the beginning of the set.
Andriano made a point to give a shout-out to his brother and wife who live in the city, followed by a short story about forgetting his wallet on the whole tour and not being able to pay for dinners. He then dedicated 2003's "One Hundred Stories" to his brother from their album Good Mourning.
Compared to Drug Church's set, Alkaline Trio was all business as they made limited small talk without losing the momentum. Their setlist was a great mix of songs from their biggest albums, including 2001's From Here To Infirmary, 2004's Good Mourning, 2008's Agony & Irony and their latest 2024's Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs.
They even went back to 1998's Goddamnit, unearthing "Cringe" for some of the old-school fans like myself. Hearing this song live took me back to skateboarding in the parking lot with friends at our local grocery store with a Sony boom box cranking the album. I wish they had played "San Francisco," but we can't always get everything we want.
Closing out their set, Alkaline Trio hit hard with nothing but bangers; they ripped through "Stupid Kid," "Private Eye," and "Time to Waste." Then, they left on a good note, coming out for an encore, performing everyone's favourite "Radio" off of 2000's Maybe I'll Catch Fire.
Alkaline Trio's return to Toronto was spectacular. Their electrifying performance, stacked with raw energy and nostalgia, left an indelible mark on the audience. As I left History that night, buzzing with adrenaline and echoing melodies, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the chance to see these guys perform again. Here's to hoping that Alkaline Trio continues to make more great music and come back to Toronto again soon.
For anyone who missed this show, check out all our concert photos from Alkaline Trio's Toronto show at History below:
CONCERT PHOTOS
DRUG CHURCH
ALKALINE TRIO
THE SETLIST
Hot For Preacher
We've Had Enough
Take Lots With Alcohol
Bad Time
Versions of You
Mr. Chainshaw
One Hundred Stories
Calling All Skeletons
Cringe
Break
Armaggedon
Fuck You Aurora
Mercy Me
Warbrain
Crawl
Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs
Stupid Kid
Private Eye
Time to Waste
Encore:
Radio
Relive Alkaline Trio's set with the playlist below:
Photography by: Steve St. Jean