The first time I saw BADBADNOTGOOD live was in early 2012 at Sonic Boom Records in Toronto, when it was located beside Honest Ed’s at Bathurst and Bloor. They played on a small stage tucked in the back corner of the warehouse-style record shop to an intimate audience of maybe 30 people. I had been a fan for a few months after seeing their cover of Electric Relaxation on YouTube.
A year later, Tommy aka River Tiber, put out his EP, The Star Falls – I connected with the music right away. I saw him perform for the first time at Wrongbar in 2014. Tommy probably doesn’t remember but I went up to him after, shook his hand and said “thank you.” We eventually got together about a year later and took some photos and struck up a friendship. He ended up introducing me to the BBNG guys. I found Charlotte Day Wilson’s music through Tommy in 2015 – she was opening for River at Adelaide Hall for Red Bull Sound Select. The two of them met earlier that year at Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp in Montréal and he had mentioned that she was super cool, so I was excited to see the show. I heard Charlotte sing for the first time that night. Needless to say I reached out the next day. I’ve gone on to shoot album covers, manage tours and all sorts of other stuff with Tommy and Charlotte. I’ve also documented studio sessions for BBNG and collaborated on mixes and other projects with the guys.
BBNG, Charlotte and Tommy have been friends, collaborators and supporters of each other for years, often pushing and inspiring each other’s creative outputs. These friends performed a sold-out hometown show together at the iconic Massey Hall on October 20th for Red Bull Sound Select's 3 Days in Toronto. If that alone wasn’t enough, we were blessed with the unannounced presence of Jay Electronica and the Thalea String Quartet, making it a truly special experience. This show was a milestone for everyone involved and naturally I wanted to help document the moment.
The following images are a small insight into the evening and the process leading up to it, photographed through the lens of a friend and a fan.
Rehearsal
Matty, James, Chester, Leland and Alex put in a lot of work in rehearsals all week leading up to the performance after just coming home from touring the previous weekend. Here they are running through their two hour set the day before the performance.
This show was their first live performance with Matty Tavares in over a year. The Thalea String Quartet stopped by to practice their contributions as well. Their addition to the set with BBNG was amazing and made songs like In Your Eyes and Eternal Sunshine with Jay Electronica sound fully realized in a live setting.
Massey Hall
The rare and elusive God MC Jay Electronica was the surprise guest of the night. Jay has this effortlessly positive and calming energy about him. He showed up about halfway through BBNG’s soundcheck and quietly watched from the theatre seating. When the band was ready he took time to talk to each person on stage before seamlessly running through verses from his 2007 project Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) in an empty Massey Hall. This was the first time BBNG and Jay ever met or played music together but they made it look easy.
One of my favourite moments was watching Jay and Matty rehearse FYI, a song where Jay raps over a lone piano melody. They really bonded here. Later in the evening during the performance, Jay stopped and said “I love this guy”, motioning to Matty before sharing a nice hug on stage.
Alex had lit some incense to set the vibe as the band was packed in the staircase on stage left, moments before walking on stage. I remember someone asking, “do you think we’re allowed to do this?"
River Tiber performed Acid Test with BBNG, guitarist John Mavro and Danny Voicu. Hearing them play that song together was amazing. He followed up with a beautiful solo version of West.
Charlotte performed a few songs including Work and the BBNG collab, In Your Eyes. She was nervous for this set. Usually Charlotte plays with a guitar, but it was leaning on the drum riser and fell over before she walked out so she decided not to play it, in case it went out of tune. She had to step out of her comfort zone last minute in front of the sold out crowd, but she levelled up and killed it regardless.
Hip-hop legend Lord Finesse was spinning vinyl in the basement of Massey Hall to further enhance the already incredible vibe.
I ran out of colour film but I had a spare B&W roll to shoot Finesse and Jay catching up after the show. This was truly a moment as these guys are living legends.
This last shot was taken in a packed hallway in the basement of the venue filled with friends and family. Massey Hall truly felt like home that night. Charlotte put it best when she said during her performance that playing with BBNG doesn’t feel like playing with a band, but rather just playing with friends. After the show a friend told me that the show was life affirming when discussing how the evening had been the greatest ever. I’m proud to see these hometown heroes included in the history of Massey Hall. Thank you to everyone involved in making the night happen, it was a moment we’ll remember forever.
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