Jessica Jakubowicz – The Concordian

Jessie Reyez put on a breathtaking show at MTelus on Saturday, Nov. 26

Toronto native Jessie Reyez made her debut performance at MTelus on Nov. 26. The last time the singer was in Montreal was in 2021 for Osheaga. Seeing her perform at Osheaga on the big stage with thousands of people was one thing, but seeing her perform in a smaller, more intimate venue was something else.

The show, which is a part of Reyez’s first tour, had two incredible openers. The first opener goes by the name of Leila Dey, who is also from Toronto. The artist had a soulful R&B sound, and seemed extremely confident in herself. She even took us back to the ’90s and sang some old R&B hits to a thrilled crowd.

The second opener was the very impressive Nija Charles. The artist has written songs for Ariana Grande, Beyonce, and many other mainstream artists. However, as she explained at the show, she wants to pave her own path in music. She was dancing and singing, looking evidently confident in herself. She got the crowd hyped for Reyez to come out.

As soon as Reyez came out, the crowd became absolutely deafening. The singer-songwriter made it clear that she loves performing, and that she loves her fans. Her sultry, raspy and powerful voice reminds me of the late Amy Winehouse. It’s rare that singers sound better live than they do on an edited track, and Reyez is a perfect example.

The singer was incredibly talkative with the crowd. Not only was her show musically entertaining, but she was also very funny. She cracked jokes in between songs, interacted with a few lucky fans in the audience, and even drew someone’s new tattoo for them.

Another thing that is common at her concerts is people throwing their bras at her on stage. Reyez had 10-12 hanging on her mic stand, and it was amusing to see her sing very emotional deep songs with them hanging there.

The concert was a beautiful experience, with a crowd so loud that the artist even started crying at one point because she was so taken aback.

Reyez ended the concert with the song that made her famous, “Figures.” All the lights were dimmed and everyone turned their phone flashlights on. It was solely Reyez with her guitar, singing as the audience sang back even louder. It was the type of moment that makes concerts and music so enthralling.

The show was one to never forget. Reyez put everything she had into her performance — it’s clear that she was meant to be a musician.

Photo by Jessica Jakubowicz

Concert Review: Demi Lovato at L’Olympia

Demi Lovato put on a stellar performance at L’Olympia on Sunday, Oct. 16

The pop-star-turned-rock-star performed in a significantly small venue on Oct. 16, considering her fame and popularity over many years. The last time the singer was in Montreal, she performed at the Bell Centre with a capacity of 21,302 people. L’Olympia, on the other hand, has a capacity of only 1,120.

While the show started at 8 p.m., fans began lining up outside the doors nine hours prior to the entry time at 6:30 p.m.

Demi Lovato opened her show with Royal & the Serpent aka Ryan Santiago, an American singer-songwriter. She absolutely killed it with her energy and evident passion for music. The crowd’s energy matched hers, with fans jumping and headbanging to the music.

Santiago ended with her most famous song “Overwhelmed” that went viral on TikTok, and the crowd got extremely loud and pumped up for Demi’s appearance.

Demi came on stage with an all-girl band and the crowd went nuts. The singer started with songs from her new rock album HOLY FVCK and then went back to her Disney days with songs like “Don’t Forget” and “Remember December” — but with a rock twist. Having grown up with these songs, the fans knew every single word, including myself.

She also performed the song “29” which is the most talked-about song on the new album, since it is about the singer’s past relationship with Wilmer Valderrama. The song points out how the then 29-year-old actor dated Lovato when she was only 17. Upon turning 29, the lyrics say that she finally realized how wrong the relationship was.

Lovato spoke to the crowd before performing the song saying that she’s seen how her fans have been sharing their stories of going through the same thing, and how she’s sorry for them going through it too.

As someone who saw Demi perform at the Bell Centre four years ago when she was still making pop music, had long black hair, and dressed completely differently, I could say that this rock era is by far her best.

The singer’s powerful raspy voice fits with the rock genre perfectly, her vocals coming through more powerfully than ever. The singer seemed to be at her most confident during the Sunday night performance, and her voice has truly never sounded better.

The energy was palpable throughout the show, with a loud crowd screaming all the lyrics back to the singer.There’s been talk that this is Lovato’s last tour, and if it is, I’m very happy that I was there to see it.

Photo by Jessica Jakubowicz