TimeGiant – NXNE 2012 Concert Review

June 18 2012: A month ago we saw TimeGiant at The Rivoli. This is the band who were the winner of our Canada Music Week’s best gig mention on March 23 2012 (as can be recapped here). The verdict on the Rivoli show last month was: “Excellent performance from one Canada’s best up and coming bands. My money is on them to be Toronto’s next big band in the tradition of Max Webster, Triumph and Rush. Mustaches and long hair have never been cooler!” With stellar performances the last 2 times we saw TimeGiant our expectations were stratospheric. 

From their opening number at the Supermarket with Farcaster, Toronto’s heir apparent to 70’s style classic rock throne TimeGiant amassed legions of little giants seeking musical salvation. Their tight seven song set came fully loaded with high octane rock that echoes early Rush with liberal hints of Triumph throughout.  The anthem rock assault continued with I Am the Fire but what we saw happen for the third song was magical. Shifting into 4th gear with Blind, the third song in the set, TimeGiant showed why this all business rock band not only pulls in huge numbers at NXNEbut translates their onstage energy well into the far reaches of their burgeoning followers. The crowd was drawn to the front of the stage and engulfed the band in their appreciation. This very solid 1-2-3 punch was loud, raw, visceral, guitar heavy power rock and what we saw were 4 guys on stage that were not afraid to be rock stars!

Ryan Watson and Charlie McKittrick of TimeGiant at NXNE 2012

The bluesy rock anthem Close To Me down shifts to a more laid back jam as the rootsy vocals of Tyrone Buccione pulled strong references to the sweet licks of Southern Rock and then some. Where the Giants really shine is how they played with the crowd on their signature song Candy From A Feather.  A fun audience sing along really set the tone for one of our highlights of NXNE 2012. The announcement that TimeGiant were starting to record a new CD next month only increased the interest before Ryan Watson’sjump cut guitar intro into the surging White Window. TimeGiant closed out the set with the well received unreleased single, Been Here Before. In between we saw drummer Charlie McKittrick deliver a (too short) John Henry Bonham inspired drum solo, that left us hungry for more. Bassist Pat Wilken was all smiles as he ensured the beat was pounding all night to trasport us to a better musical era. As with every TimeGiant show, Buccione put down his guitar for his saxophone and showcased an epic sax solo that cemented our opinion that his talent and on stage charisma are good enough to be lighting up the Air Canada Center.

TimeGiant’s Charlie McKittrick at NXNE 2012

With so many bands all jockeying to break free and assert their musical dominance at NXNE, it takes something special to not only break from the musical peloton but consolidate that break. What impressed us greatly about their set is that they took the opportunity to showcase upcoming and unreleased material as opposed to falling back to the comfortable confines of their back catalog (and in particular to their anthem Zenith which is a song any classic rock fan should have on their iPods). TimeGiant gave another performance that reaffirms their front runner status on the Canadian rock landscape and we may as well repeat our conclusion from the last time we saw them ….. “My money is on them to be Toronto’s next big band in the tradition of Max Webster, Triumph and Rush. Mustaches and long hair have never been cooler!”

Review: John Dash | Photos: Steve Mallinson | Editorial: Terry Makedon

Patrick Wilken at NXNE 2012

Ryan Watson at NXNE 2012 for TimeGiant

TimeGiant – NXNE 2012

Tyrone Buccione – NXNE 2012

Tyrone Buccione delivering the goods at NXNE 2012 for TimeGiant