Phoenix Concert Theater, Toronto (23.10.2024)

Mumiy Troll is a Russian rock group, founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko.
Other band members: Artyom Kritsin – guitar, Oleg Pungin – drums, Nicholas Mustapha – keyboards, Erik Himel – bass guitar.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjBQtna

The Lighthouse Tour 2024. Toronto (“History” venue, 21.10.2024)

Band members:
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk — lead vocals
Denys Hlinin — drums, percussion
Denys Dudko — bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Miloš Jelić — piano, synthesizers, backing vocals
Vladimir Opsenica — guitars, backing vocals

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjBPUZW

October 12, 2024. (Velvet Underground, Toronto)

LYAPIS TRUBETSKOY – North American Tour 2024 to support Ukraine! Warrior of Light – THE BEST.

The legendary punk-rock band played the concert in full force. Part of the funds will be used to help the defenders of Ukraine (Serhiy Mikhalok was one of the first who started accumulating his music to help Ukraine). The atmosphere of punk rock is not transmitted through screens and radio receivers – this is a fact. Real punk rock is where the stage shakes with sound waves, and “Warriors of Light” sounds in thousands of voices. Their music always unites brave, honest, and the real warriors of light. These songs become good memories, a charge of energy, and also hymns of the struggle for freedom.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjBNXUf

Phoenix Concert Theater, Toronto (03.02.2024).

“Neschastny Sluchai” (literally “Unfortunate Event”) is a Russian rock band that was formed by Valdis Pelsh and Alexey Kortnev in 1983, while both men were students at Moscow State University.
Despite being popular in Russia, the band is virtually unknown outside. The band’s lyrics are at the same time grotesque and sentimental while their music features complicated structures and melodic turns rooted in the prog rock of the ’70s. Alexey Kortnev is a Russian musician and actor known for his work in theater and movies in collaboration with the Kvartet E. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the band has been banned from performing in Russia as a result of Kortnev’s anti-war stand.

Band:
Alexey Kortnev — vocals, guitar, songwriting
Sergey Chekryzhov — keyboards, accordion, vocals
Dmitry Chuvelyov — bass, guitar, vocals
Pavel Timofeev — drums, percussion

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjBdtJY

YouTube: https://youtu.be/pzGZ2hUhARs

Phoenix Concert Theater, Toronto (26.11.2023).

First Time in Toronto! A legendary Russian rock band “Splean” made a long-anticipated Canadian debut with the program “The Best”, as part of their big North American tour! The band performed their biggest hits including songs from recent albums. The band’s name is derived from “spleen”, and the “ea” spelling in English is a pun on the spelling of the Beatles. It was borrowed from a short poem by Sasha Cherny, which the band transformed into music.

Band: Alexander Vasilyev – lead vocals, guitar; Vadim Sergeyev – guitar; Dmitriy Kunin – bass-guitar; Nikolay Rostovsky – keyboards; Alexey Mesherekov – drums.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5obA

Toronto (29.10.2023)
(USA and Canada Tour, Concert in REBEL)

The founders and permanent members are Shura Bidva [Alexander Uman] (guitar, vocals) and Leva Bidva [Egor Bortnik] (main vocals). The team also includes Andrey Zvonkov (guitar), Max Lakmus (bass guitar), Boris Lifshitz (drums, percussion) and Yan Nikolenko (backing vocals, keyboards, flute, percussion).

In 2022, the band opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and refused to sing at venues which had banners supporting the invasion. Their concerts in Russia were eventually canceled, and they were forced to emigrate.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1Mqs

Phoenix Concert Theater, Toronto (20.06.2023)

BG+ : Boris Grebenshikov, Alexander Titov (bass), Brian Finnegan (flute), Konstantin Tumanov (keyboards and accordion), Liam Bradley (drums), Gleb Grebenshikov (percussion).
Boris (BG) prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the “founding fathers” of Russian rock music.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjALohA

Toronto (04.05.2023)
(Help For Ukraine US and Canada 2023 Tour, Concert in REBEL)

For 27 years now, the band has been one of the main representatives of modern Ukrainian music for the whole world. Okean Elzy has helped Ukraine throughout different periods of its history, especially during the most difficult ones. The lead singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk actively participates in charity and social projects. Together with other members of the band, he supported the human rights campaign of IOM and MTV Europe “People are not for sale”, became Honored Ambassador of Culture in Ukraine, and was appointed goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Development Program. Now he supports Ukrainians during the war with Russia, performing at train stations, in refugee camps, in trenches and military units.
Okean Elzy is one of the most popular Ukrainian rock bands, known far beyond the borders of their native country. Their music unites, and the unique sound and strong lyrics penetrates the depths of the soul. Musicians have gathered thousands of fans to their concerts in Poland, Germany, Canada, USA, Great Britain, Australia and many other countries.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjACLLp

March 1, 2023 (John Basset Theatre, Toronto)

Mashina Vremeni (Russian for Time Machine) is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music, and remains one of the oldest still active rock bands in Russia. The band’s music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and Russian folk music. Mashina Vremeni’s best known members are Andrei Makarevich – the founder, principal singer-songwriter and the band’s public persona, Alexander Kutikov – the bass player and producer/sound engineer.

Other band members on this concert: Valeriy Efremov – drums; Alexandr Ditkovsky – trumpet; Igor Homich – guitar; Alexander Levochkin – keyboards; Kirill Ipatov – percussions, drums.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjAuGiy

The Axis Club, Toronto (12.02.2023)

Nogu Svelo! (lit. ’Cramp in the Leg!’) is a contemporary Russian rock band. The group was founded by Maxim Pokrovsky, the only consistent member and author of nearly all of the band’s work. The band’s work is diverse and influenced by a variety of styles, including alternative rock, pop punk, punk rock, art punk, experimental rock and others. Later works also include elements of electronic music. Lyrically, they are characterized by frequent use of humor and parody. While some of their albums include English lyrics, the majority of their work is in Russian. While originally from Moscow, the band relocated to the US in 2016 and for political reasons no longer performs in Russia.

Since April 2022, Nogu Svelo! has released a number of songs and videos against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, namely “Nam ne nuzhna voina!” (lit. ’We don’t need war!’), “Ukraine”, “Bukva zyu” (lit. ’The letter z’), “Pokolenie z” (lit. ’Generation z’), “Russia, Go Home!”, “Gimn obrechyonnykh” (lit. ’Hymn of the Doomed’), and “S novym godom, synok!” (lit. ’Happy new year, son!’).

The band: Max Pokrovsky, Matt Breuer, Dimitri Vishnepolsky, Graham Doby, Andrey Yarygin, Tatiana Pokrovskaya and Joey Lamb.
The song “Ukraine” at a concert in Toronto was performed together with Ukrainian musician Gregory Chebonenko.

All pictures: flic.kr/s/aHBqjArYm1