It’s a bittersweet night in Ottawa as Hollerado plays their last show for the hometown fans. The boys grew up here in town so it was only fitting that one of the stops on the last tour made sure to come home.
Formed in 2007, the band has released 4 studio albums and played countless shows including played with bands like Weezer, Billy Talent and The Flaming Lips to name a few. Hollerado has also racked up a bunch of awards nods and even winning Sirius XM Indie Group of the Year 2014.
Luna Li
Opening up the night for Hollerado is Luna Li. Now I have never heard of this group so I was curious what I was about to get into. This young group consisted of a bassist/Keyboardist, backing guitar and lead vocals/guitar so they were able to fill out the stage a little bit.
It started out a little slow for my liking with some very soft and melodic tunes. The fans seemed to get in the groove pretty nicely. Once the 4th track hit the energy started to build and Luna started bouncing around the stage a little more. One of the real unique things was her inclusion of the violin at certain points to almost make for a small interlude. Very different but not bad show.
Charly Bliss
Next on deck is Charly Bliss. Another one I was not familiar with. I heard some of the fans talking about how excited they were to see her so I had my hopes up. Charly started out on the keys building energy right from the get go. Flanked by her bassist and guitarist she quickly moved to center stage and started rocking out. Eva (Lead Vocal) had on what I would consider one of the most unique outfits if seen in a while. She was right in her zone and brought everyone along for the ride. It was rather refreshing seeing the burst of energy they brought to every song and fans sang along with them. They kind of gave me a feeling of the 90s punk era making everything a party as they go. New fan here for sure.
Hollerado
And now for the headliners of the night. Hollerado is well known in Ottawa so the place was packed floor to balcony. The house lights when low and the stage light started out. The band took their places in the dark with a single backing light and the show started. Starting out the night with Hollerado Land, Grief Money and Americanarama, the grabbed every fans attention right away. Menno would pause and tell the fans some stories. They would come home and stay in and visiting their families unlike other nights on tour.
The whole venue shook as Hollerado rocked the house down with the fans right along for the ride. During what turned out the be their first encore, Menno invited local artist Kyle Ivan (recently at Bluefest 2019) up to the stage after seeing his sign. They got him to play Juliette with the band while Menno took to some stage diving. Finishing out the emotional night they played Free Fallin and Rockin in the Free World.
The fans cheered, some with a tear in their eye as this was a goodbye for the local band that found a way to do what they loved. Hollerado will always be remembered and loved by everyone they touched along the way.
Good night guys it was a pleasure getting to be there for one last ride.