Photos and a review of July Talk in Ottawa

[Nicholas Wrixon-Wood provides the words and the photos come from Melody Maloney. – AC]

July Talk’s ten-year anniversary Touch X Tour sells out The Bronson

July Talk sold out The Bronson in Ottawa, Ontario, on March 25th with the most recent stop on their Touch X Tour. The Tour celebrates the ten-year anniversary of July Talk’s acclaimed Touch (2016) album and the decade of success the band has seen since its release.

Anticipation for the performance mounted as fans lined up, braving a sudden snow storm in late March to fill every seat in the auditorium. More than ever, fans were eager to see July Talk perform following the announcement that co-lead singer Leah Fay Goldstein is once again touring while pregnant — an incredible feat of commitment to her craft. But with that dedication comes the precarious nature of touring during this time, and fans are clamouring to see the band while she’s still able to safely perform.

The night was opened by Julianna Riolino who came onto stage with a din of psychedelic synth and pounding drums you could feel in your chest. Their opening song crescendoed with a warbling guitar solo and impassioned vocals.

The lead singer and front woman, the eponymous Juliana, showcased her powerful voice for the crowd, belting high notes with rock energy that shifted between southern twang and hair metal.

After introducing themselves to a roaring crowd and getting us hyped for July Talk, the band treated us to songs from their most recent album Echo in the Dust. They began with “Like a Rembrandt,” delivering satisfying hard rock with more of that classic americana twang. 

They moved on to a song about jealousy and greed, an 80’s-inspired, classic rock anthem that led with thrumming guitar before sliding into a “crunchy and romantic” southern ballad. Juliana Riolino gave us the contrasting comforts of rock and romance, shouting out, “Rock and roll never dies as long as we’re at the helm!” 

The band flawlessly melded a surprising mixture of sweet, delicate timbres with hard-rocking, southern drawl. 

Juliana had a fun, easy quality to her and effortlessly engaged the audience with her colloquial stage presence, introducing each song with an old school I-don’t-give-a-fuck energy that was incredibly entertaining throughout. She even gave us a formal invitation to “rock out with her,” which I’m a complete sucker for and couldn’t resist throwing up the horns in response.

Juliana introduced their closing track by saying, “The song’s called ‘Seed’ — it’s about being your own seed and being seen for who you really are and shit.” Very eloquently put, Juliana. But damn, did they deliver on an old-school rock ballad that had the whole room swaying and rocking along. As you commanded, I will be “planting my seed,” Juliana.

July Talk took to the stage with “Picturing Love,” wasting no time driving the audience into a frenzy with their unique style and passion. 

They moved on to “Beck + Call,” sounding a call of chastisement against colonial violence and introducing the song with a land acknowledgment, which was received with thunderous applause.

As phenomenal as the power couple of Peter and Leah are on vocals, I was stunned during “Now I Know” by the power of the drums thrumming in my chest, the electric guitar riffs and — never to be understated — that glorious cowbell they treated us to.

They moved onto a contrasting pair of songs, the hard-rocking “Johnny + Mary,” featuring flashing lights and bellowed vocals so raw they were nearly instrumental, and “Strange Habit,” an intimate, piano-centric ballad.

“Push + Pull.” If you’ve heard the song, you know how powerful and unique the entire experience is — July Talk surpassed all my expectations with this live iteration. Peter’s gravelly noir vocals; Leah’s trance-like soprano; the guitar like a meat grinder — it can’t be praised highly enough.

They followed that performance with a series of absolute bangers: “Lola + Joseph,” “So Sorry” and “Jesus Said So.” Each one rocking just as hard as the last and dragging the crowd along on our knees.

July Talk followed those hits with “Touch,” the much-anticipated title track for the tour. Peter Dreimanis’ iconic voice accompanied by Leah’s softer tones created a burn-and-balm duet that left me savouring the heat and begging for relief.

“Love’s Not Dead” — and neither was the audience — when July Talk lured us in with a melancholic prelude before unleashing a musical warhead whose aftershocks shook the walls.

After finishing the entirety of the Touch album playlist, July Talk moved on to play a collection of their other hits after thanking the audience for their continued support over the past decade. They began with “Certain Father,” another perfect example of their iconic blues-inspired rock.

“Life of the Party” was a breath of symphonic air, giving the audience a moment to collect themselves after the previous rock onslaught. Once we had recuperated, the cowbell came back for “I Am Water” — much to my delight — alongside synth-style beats to compliment the band’s sound.

Peter introduced the next song, “Paper Girl,” by saying, “Very rarely do we come together to put our fists in the air for something we believe in — so let tonight be that night!” He encouraged the audience to sing along together and make this song a tribute to everyone supporting the band and those who came all together tonight. 

When the lights went down, the audience stood up with deafening applause — which only got louder when the band returned to treat us to “Summer Dress” and “Garden.”

July Talk kept me enthralled and on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Between their raw musical performance and incredible stage presence, this was a show so good that I was checking my calendar to see if I could make the encore the following night.

Accompanying this wildly successful tour, July Talk previously announced they’d be releasing a newly recorded studio version of their iconic Touch album, Touch X, featuring the same beloved tracks re-recorded with the band’s last decade of stage experience. Furthermore, Touch X is slated for release as a double album alongside Love’s Not Dead, an unreleased album recorded in 2016 and a must have for fans.