Fidlar Brings a Blistering Performance to History in Toronto [Photos]

Bitter cold weather didn’t keep 2,500 Oliver Tree fans from queuing up early to get into HISTORY. They arrived to watch Jasiah and Fidlar open the show before Supercomputer and Oliver Tree took the stage and gave the crowd what they were there for.

I came for a rock show, and Fidlar 100 percent delivered the goods. Zac Carper stomped away on his guitar pedals (lovingly mounting on a skateboard deck) and thrashed through eleven songs with the kinetic Brandon Schwartzel on bass and drummer Max Kuehn smashing away at the kit. The recent departure of guitarist Elvis Kuehn paved the way for Michael Crain. But he wasn’t on stage with the band this evening. Whoever their current touring guitarist is, he performed well.

Someone in the crowd kept yelling out, “Wake Bake Skate,” in between the first few songs. Carper looked at the patron and laughed. He said that “yelling out song names to a band as they play rarely ever works – except for tonight.” And then Fidlar launched into the song to his enthusiastic delight.

Performing in front of a monitor featuring clever video footage and animations, Fidlar performed for around 45 minutes, leaving patrons who were there to see them and them alone wanting more. It was notably odd to have Fidlar on a bill with two DJs with cardboard monitors on their heads (Supercomputer). And then you have Oliver Tree (more of a comedian/force of nature than a traditional touring rock band).

As unimpressed as I was with the rest of the evening, I can only imagine the same would ring true from Oliver Tree fans questioning the logic of a band like Fidlar opening for their cinematic TikTok hero. Tree had fans in the crowd dressed like him, girls screaming the lyrics to his songs, and legions of fans in the room – it was fascinating to behold. After a few songs, I’d seen all I needed to see and left. When Fidlar returns to town, I’ll be ready to rock.

Fidlar Setlist:

Sand on the Beach
40oz. On Repeat
On drugs
Wake Bake Skate
No Waves
Sober
By Myself
Centipede
Stoked and Broke
West Coast
5 to 9

Fidlar @ History (Toronto, ON) on January 15, 2024

38 photos