Toronto got a double shot of incredible voices last night at the Great Hall. Although it was a struggle to get all these people in the same room due to the crazy snow on the ground, the place was packed with people ready to take an emotional journey far away from this weather.

Sylvaine

Sylvaine walked on quietly and just opened the show with her illustrious vocals. The hushed crowd hung onto every note as if they were absorbing life itself.

Sylvaine stood out like an angelic specter, relaying songs from a mythical realm.  Her voice was reticent and introspective. It was like a whispered secret she was trying to pass to you.

Her show really picked up when her heavenly voice suddenly changed into a wailing banshee. The contrast grabbed your instincts immediately and you became a part of a different dimension.

Sylvaine let us know this is her third time here into Toronto, but the first time she came solo. I think she was a little nervous to the kind of reception she was going to receive without her backing band.

It was clear that this audience didn’t really care because of how enraptured we were just having her there supporting Eivor. This seemed to be a perfect match from a young woman who tagged along on this tour. She hails from Norway, while Eivor hails from the Faroe Islands, about 1,500 Kms east of Norway.

Even in the deep freeze of Canada, she warmed up this lovely audience and we Canadians made her feel perfectly at home.

Here are photos of Sylvaine:

Eivor

On her opening number, I could actually feel my heart pumping again. It was as if I was a part of me was dead for a long time and a piece of me woke up again. Stunned in this silence, I was frozen in time with this emotion.  The still of the audience conveyed that I was not the only one going through this.

Eivor has an immediate reaction when she opens up and lets her energy out.  It seemed that every gesture and motion was very intentional right down to how she even moved her pinky finger. She clearly is a very hypnotic artist.

Her second song, “Jardatta” turned into a slow dark rave that crawled through your skin. The vibrational energy created goose bumps that told us we were alive.

I still find it amazing that an artist that sings in a different language can clearly convey the depth of their emotions to their audience. That happened with her song, “Purpurhjarta”, which translated into Purple Heart. It is a song reaching for the light when you are living in complete darkness.  This was the moment I compared her vocal style to that of Kate Bush. It was very similar to her song, “Oh England my Lionheart”.

Eivor had many songs of strength and about not giving up. “Skyscraper” is a good example of that message. It is not about how steep the climb is, it is about continuing the climb. As I looked around the audience you could feel people that are struggling in their lives right now, soaking in that message with all their being.

The moment she picked up a single drum, similar to the drum of our indigenous people, the crowd woke up and stood ready for this moment. As she hit the drum and began her hypnotic chant, time and space slipped away and then this deep guttural sound from the deep bowels of the earth came out. It was a cleansing moment and exorcise for the soul.

From that moment on, the rest of the show seemed to come from other doors of dimensions. The crowd entered the soul of the Earth and were reconnected to it. We went to a dark vampire’s party and met spirits with sharp objects. We sailed ships with corsair fishermen and rode the waves of Faroe hymns.

One of the most interesting moments came when Eivor continued with another throat singing piece and then turned the microphone over to the audience. Toronto fell into an embarrassing silence not knowing what to do. She encouraged us to try and sing along with her. So, we squeaked out something the second time around and realized we are all connected and shouldn’t really care what happens now. The third time around Toronto chanted for their supper. It was a moment of freedom that we all relished in at the same time. The smile on Eivor face said it all.

When the end of the evening came, Eivor invited Sylvaine onto the stage and tried something completely new. They tried this out during the sound check and thought it would be a nice gift to share with Canada. They paid tribute to Canada as well as our poet, Leonard Cohen and sang, “You want it Darker”. These are the rare musical moments I live for. The crowd agreed and abided.

The band finished the evening with “Falling Free”, which in my opinion is her version of Pink Floyd’s, The great gig in the sky”. Her vocal performance at the very end was the cleansing palette to finish off a ritualistic experience we now know as Eivor.

Here are photos of Eivor:

If you like any of the photos I took, I could send you a Hi-Res photo for just $10. Simply e-transfer the funds to blasttorontomag@gmail.com

If you love our articles, we do this at no cost. If you would like to Buy us a Coffee, you can just hit that button to leave a tip. Thank you.