In breakups, there is normally a winner and a loser (sorry not sorry) and honestly . . . Jordan Miller is winning. From the ashes of her breakup with Brett Emmons of The Glorious Sons (who were just in town the Thursday before), Miller’s heartbreak has led The Beaches into the spotlight on TikTok and has nearly sold out their Blame My Ex Tour. And they blessed Victoria as the final stop on the Canadian leg of the tour. What a damn treat. The Royal Theatre was sold out and packed with excited fans on a Monday evening awaiting an awesome show.
Beach Weather opened with their easy, breezy pop rock tunes. They have a few albums under the belt and they moved through their set smoothly. Their stage setup reminded me of The Killers’ set at Save On Foods Memorial Centre back in 2009 (that nostalgia hit) with fake palm trees, fairy lights, and a pineapple on the keyboard for their most recent album Pineapple Sunrise. The band was decked out in seventies attire and the lead singer Nick Santino has a Jarvis Cocker air to him (if you don’t know who that is, please look him up!). He swayed and crooned, moving about the stage with ease while his cohorts remained static at their instruments. Santino also got vulnerable while chatting about missing home and family between songs; we love to see men owning those big feelings. They closed out their set with Sex, Drugs, Etc. and worked a bit of The Beatles’ She’s So Heavy in at the end, leaving the stage with a semi-standing ovation from the crowd. They were the perfect sonic appetizer for the main event.
The Beaches arrived onstage at the end of Charlie XCX’s Speed Drive playing through the house speakers, and immediately created a lively atmosphere with everyone on their feet through their entire set. They have great stage presence: they’re dynamic and frolic with their instruments, grabbing at one another, and amping up the heat in the theatre. As Miller said, “It’s a sweaty night, Victoria.” Their brand of rock is raucous, honest, and fun – perfect for all the couples, mothers and daughters, and single ladies I saw singing along to every word. After seeing them at the Tilt! Backyard Weekender in 2022, I know I was ready to sing along and dance in my assigned seat.
Among the set, I have to highlight a few songs. T-Shirt was their second song, and hearing a theatre full of people sing “Itty Bitty Titty Committee” really is something magical and hilarious. They brought out Santino (with a bouquet of roses) and bassist Reeve Powers of Beach Weather for My Body Ft Your Lips, aka “the horniest song on the album” and had beers brought out before launching into Shower Beer. Want What You Got made the audience bouncy, and they finished their main set with the anthemic Blame Brett. They gave it their all and left nothing behind. Their set was fun from beginning to end and they had excellent between song banter about the thought behind their songs and you could tell they were living the dream. To quote Lucille Booth: “Good for her.”
Sadly, I had to sneak out because I work early in the morning (and I honestly hate navigating crowds post-show), so I didn’t get to witness their encore, but heard great things from those who stayed. From a trusted source, when the lights came on at the end of their set, The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy came on. A nod to boygenius and their epic tour (we like to think).
All in all, a stellar show by some stellar performers. It was so worth staying up late on a school night and drinking extra coffee the next day. The Beaches are off to Europe for their first tour across the pond and I know they’ll kick ass and take names. They’ll do Toronto proud!
