Ottawa rock band Hollerado delivered a lively and upbeat performance during their homecoming concert at Ottawa’s Bronson Centre on May 12.
After months of touring around the world, the band brought their “Born Yesterday” tour to their hometown in front of a packed and energetic crowd.
Proud of his Ottawa roots, lead singer Menno Versteeg told The Charlatan, “It’s always nice playing where you grew up, you make family and friends proud, and I’m surrounded by Sens fans.”
Versteeg also talked about what it was like serving as the opening act on Sum 41 and the Sam Roberts Band’s recent tours.
“You learn a lot from bands like that who have been doing it for so long and are real professionals,” he said, “You watch them play every night and how they do things, and . . . hopefully you can take some of that and put it into how you do your thing.”
Hollerado has been on tour promoting their new album, Born Yesterday, which was released this past April.
Guitarist Nick Boyd described the unhurried and meaningful process the band went through while putting the album.
“We knew we had some personal stories and political opinions that we wanted to make known, so we just took the time to put those in words in a way that made sense to us and a tone we felt was meaningful,” he said.
Boyd opened up about how a cancer diagnosis inspired him to write the song, “Don’t Shake.”
“I went through a period of needing some treatment, and that song was an expression of my fears,” he said. “It was almost an appeal to the people around to be strong and get through this with me.”
The band’s set was highlighted by new songs complimented by some of their older ones. They opened with their new anti-establishment track “Grief Money” and concluded by going all out with “Do The Doot Da Doot Do.” They got the crowd singing loud with many other songs such as “Julliette,” “Pick Me Up” and “Got To Lose.”
The band maintained a strong connection with the audience through constant interaction and entertaining banter. They also stopped playing mid-song to make sure that someone who had passed out got medical attention.
Hollerado’s stage was covered with invisible ink, which under an ultraviolet light revealed illustrations and words on the amplifiers and the background. This unique element of their show is similar to the packaging of their new album, on which the track listing is invisible and can only be seen under a UV light.
Hollerado’s headlining set was greatly complimented by their opening acts: Kingston-based indie duo PS I Love You and Montreal-based rock band Everett Bird. The two opening acts energized the crowd and contributed to what was an exciting and entertaining evening.
Hollerado is set to continue their tour across Canada this summer.
“We’re really excited to have this album finally out, we worked really hard on it,” Boyd said. “This is our first Canadian tour in support of it, so we’re excited to see everybody across the country.”
Photo credits: Meagan Casalino
