Beautiful and Tragic: The Trews at the CNE 2016

~Photos by Trish Cassling, Canadian National Exhibition, CNE, rock and roll, The Lazys, The Novaks, The Trews, Toronto, towers Awesome, Entertainment, Music

For more than a decade we've been listening to the rock and roll stylings of The Trews, and on Saturday night we took it all in up close and personal at the CNE in Toronto.

The Antigonish, Nova Scotia natives took the stage to an awesome reception of fans who knew exactly what they were getting themselves into, and couldn't wait to hear the hits and sing along for the night. It's those same fans (and you too) that need to be ready for Friday, September 9 when Time Capsule hits stores and online outlets.

Trish caught up with John Angus MacDonald backstage to chat before the show and asked him about the album's greatest hits & new music combo and found out that it was essential to the band that the four new songs be part of the offering. They did not want to fall into the stigma that a best of or greatest hits album is signaling the beginning of the end - because the band feels like they've got a lot left in them to give.

Trish: In 5 words or less can you describe how it feels when the crowd sings your songs back to you? John Angus: Fu - cking A - maz - ing... there's 5 syllables.

And with a 19 song set in Toronto on Saturday, they showed us all that they aren't ready to ride off into the sunset at all. With Colin on the microphone, leading the charge, The Trews held the crowd in the palms of their hands. And when it was time to sing, the Ex got loud and proud to support the band, and we loved it. The band did too, or so we expect...

As the set played on it became clear to me that I had forgotten how much I really loved the songs that The Trews have put out since 2002. And then I realized that I was really happy that we had a Canadian band headlining a Saturday night rock and roll show, with a bunch of fans really into it. Sometimes we take CanCon for granted, but Saturday night we were proud.

Trish asked about the changes in the Canadian music scene since the band broke in, and it almost seemed like John Angus didn't know where to start. He mentioned the scaling down on the industry side with fewer people working for labels and bands. He also talked about the advent of social media, streaming, and iTunes. It's sometimes easy to forget that all of those things are so new, and a band with a 15 year career has been on both sides of the shift. John Angus also talked about the change in crowds over the years, and how they've seen their fans grow up from their early twenties to their thirties - with kids. But they still see the new 20 somethings that are into the music too. It's a mix that keeps tickets sold and makes the shows a lot of fun.

Note: When Colin stood on stage alone with his guitar and strummed and sang Highway Of Heroes I got chills. You could have heard a pin drop. It was powerful and beautiful. And when it ended I was almost surprised that the crowd didn't burst out into Oh Canada.

Before Trish let John Angus get ready for the show she got to ask him about Canadian music, and got him to pick 1 band that we should be listening to right now, AND 1 band from the east coast that he thinks should be more popular across the country.

New Band: Towers. There's new music coming, and John Angus has been in the studio to work on a couple songs with them already, so be ready.

East Coast Band: The Novaks. From St. John's, NFLD, they started coming up about the same time as The Trews and John Angus thinks that they def. could have gotten a bigger chance. Give 'em a listen.

The Trews are Juno nominees, East Coast and Independent Music award winners, and Canadian favourites in the genre. They've worked hard, and often over the last decade and a half, and by all indications, they're ready to keep pushing.

Colin, John Angus, Jack, Gavin, and Jeff put on a show for us at the CNE. From Lotta Work Little Love, through hits like Not Ready To Go, Hope & Ruin, and Tired Of Waiting, and the encore that included a nod to The Hip with Putting Down, and then a collaboration with Leon and Matty of The Lazys on Hold Me In Your Arms and Highway To Hell to close the show - we were all given what we were hoping for, what we expected, and what The Trews have been doing since the start.

We can't wait to see what the next chapter brings!

The Trews Set List, CNE Toronto 2016

Lotta Work Little Love
Beautiful and Tragic
Not Ready to Go
So She's Leaving
Paranoid Freak
Hope & Ruin
65 Roses
Power of Positive Drinking
Love Is the Real Thing
Tired of Waiting
Highway of Heroes
Dark Highway
What's Fair Is Fair
Sing Your Heart Out
I Can't Stop Laughing
Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me
Encore:
Putting Down (Hip cover)
Hold Me In Your Arms
Highway to Hell