Jessie Ware10.23.23
Toronto, ON
While artists have always returned to the sounds and ideas of 80s popular music in the decades following, I feel like it's seen an upswing in recent years. And Jessie Ware has captured those disco/funk/synthpop sounds in such a faithfully classic and confident way that not many others have eclipsed. What's Your Pleasure? was a revelation; honestly kind of an unexpected development for her to depart from the R&B sounds that had dominated her prior albums and almost entirely latch onto this dance-pop sound, but it was all the better for it. Her newest, That! Feels Good! continues in that vein and just further proves that this sound is perfect for her.
And with That! Feels Good!, she announced a very selective North American tour, but thankfully included a single Canadian stop in what I would call Canada's capital of live music, Toronto! Taking place at Rebel, a venue I had never been to before. It's a little bit off the beaten track in Toronto's harbourfront, but it's a treat to see the city skyline from this angle.
Her set was opened by Ty Sunderland, a New York City based DJ. And Jessie's set consisted almost entirely of cuts from her two most recent albums. It was all presented under the guise that we were at Club Pearl, which was a pretty slick way of presenting this whole thing. She was equipped with a dance crew, and everything was totally glitzed up. Just a warm, welcoming energy throughout the whole thing. I particularly loved the live rendition of "Spotlight" with the additional guitars on the build up to the chorus. The original recording is epic and orchestral in nature but the live version is somehow even more grand. Near the end of the show, she got in with the crowd, moving up to the balcony and making her way down to the floor, all the while performing a cover of Cher's "Believe". That song just has a way of injecting euphoria into a room.
All in all, not bad for a Monday night in Toronto!
