On a night where artists like Shania Twain and Avey Tare had shows in Vancouver, it was two opening acts playing at the Rickshaw Theatre who left everyone speechless.

I went to see The Plot In You at the Rickshaw Theatre last night, but I wasn’t there to see them. I was there to see two of the opening bands that they brought on their “Watch The Divide Tour.”

Thornhill, hailing from Melbourne, Australia, and Holding Absence, from Cardiff, Wales, both displayed performances that I honestly will never forget for as long as I live.

I have seen a lot of shows in my life, in fact, this was my second time seeing Holding Absence and third time seeing Thornhill. This show was without a doubt the most fun I have ever had, maybe ever.

I took two friends, one who hadn’t been to a concert since 2010, and the other hadn’t been to a show… ever! Both had a blast.

Oh yeah, I should probably start talking about the performances…

Banks Arcade

The first band to play was Banks Arcade, who I wasn’t too familiar with going into last night. They totally surprised me. The entire band displayed great energy and looked like they had a ton of fun on stage.

The bassist was also wearing a Canucks jersey, so they get an extra point.

Performance Grade: 8.5/10

The Plot In You

The headliners put on a great show… it’s too bad I didn’t stick around for the whole thing.

Listen, we were all tired, we all had school/work the next morning, and they weren’t the band we were there for. But what we saw was great.

Also, Landon Tewers is one of the best vocalists in the metal scene.

Performance Grade: 7/10

Thornhill

Yeah, this was the best performance I’ve seen from these guys.

Everything about Thornhill’s performance last night can be summed up using one word: polished. Every aspect of it was top notch. The lighting, vocals, stage presence, the instrumentals, literally everything.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrdxhlSrX2A/

The crowd also fully came alive during their set. Everyone was dancing, there was a lot of moshing, and during their final song, “Casanova” they told everyone to split the room in two halves, creating the famous “wall of death.”

The setlist was perfect, the band was awesome, and the crowd was energetic. There wasn’t anything I would’ve changed about it. Perfection.

Performance Grade: 10/10

Holding Absence

I’ll start off by saying the first time I saw these guys I had no idea who they were, but they were so good live that I instantly became a fan. They were one of the most energetic bands I had ever seen.

Last night’s performance was maybe the best I’ve ever seen from any band.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrzSlFntKng/

I quickly chatted with the band’s lead singer, Lucas Woodland before the show, as he was running the band’s merch stand. I bought a shirt and told him that he is the best live vocalist I have ever seen, to which he gave me a fist bump and joked: “Oh man the pressure! Today was supposed to be my day off!”

Lucas is the best.

I can’t properly articulate how good this performance was, it was beyond perfect. Lucas was buzzing around the stage while singing at a level that frankly isn’t human. The other members of the band were constantly headbanging and jumping around, and drummer Ash Green was an absolute machine.

To cap things off, they raised their instruments, with Ash holding a cymbal stand with a 2SLGBTQIA+ flag tied to it.

Hell yeah, Holding Absence.

Performance Grade: 10/10