ONE OK ROCK Deliver a Superb Set at Toronto’s REBEL Along with WATERPARKS and STAND ATLANTIC [Photos & Show Review]

Japanese rock band, One OK Rock brought their North American headlining tour, in support of their newest effort, Eye Of The Storm, to Toronto’s REBEL on February 28. With supporting coming from Waterparks and Stand Atlantic, it was bound to be a hell of a night!

Luckily for Stand Atlantic, there was not the typical instance of the room being half full for the opener. From the first note, it seemed the sold-out crowd had all made their way into the venue. Despite playing a 20-something-minute set, the British pop-punkers brought it like they were headlining and were a great kick-off to the night.

It’s hard to pin point what to call Waterparks since they go a lot of different places with their sound, but whatever you choose to dub it, the fans were into the tunes. Playing songs from their two LPs (2016’s Double Dare and 2018’s Entertainment), the band had pop bops, acoustic ballads, pop punk bangers; a bit of everything. The One OK Rock crowd was noticeably impressed by what they saw and was all about crowd participation despite the energy they would soon need for the headliners.

If you haven’t seen One OK Rock live yet, well, there are no “Wasted Nights”.

Whether you’re a die-hard or you don’t care about them at all, anybody who has seen the dudes cannot deny how impressive One OK Rock is live. Performing mostly songs from the newest record, as well as a few gems from past releases, the group treated the place, which only held a few thousand, like an arena show, something the group is no stranger to having done in past performances, specifically in Asia where their success is through the roof.

Vocalist Taka Moriuchi did not miss a single note amidst his engaging movements throughout the hour; the band’s playing and sound was all tight, throwing in a jam session mid-set that still blows my mind thinking about it. Even if you don’t enjoy the tunes, One OK Rock is a band worth adding to your list of ones to see. It’s absurd how perfect they sound and how easily they draw the crowd into the sheer energy they emit.

The album Eye of the Storm dropped on February 13th, 2019, via A-Sketch and Fueled by Ramen.