Grade Rewrite Their Final Chapter

Opera House

Toronto, ON

on Jul 21 2006

Paul Budel (CHARTattack)

07/24/2006 3:00pm

When I heard that Grade would be reuniting, I was as skeptical as I was excited. Though I know little of why the band called it quits, it was somewhat obvious from the member loss following 1999's breakthrough, Under The Radar, that something wasn't right. From guitarist Greg Taylor's departure to the rest of the guys abandoning singer Kyle Bishop after their final album, it was clear where the differences seemed to lay. Thankfully, on Friday night, any sign of tension, ill ease or hesitation was absent from the faces of the five guys populating the stage.

Thanks to terrible planning, I missed openers Arise And Ruin. Though having seen them a few times before, I can imagine that they played a tight set of their brand of rather nondescript metalcore. I did, however, catch Burlington, Ontario's The Video Dead, who had to deal with some technical difficulties in the early part of their set, but overcame them to put on an intense, high-energy show featuring songs from their under-appreciated debut, Brotherhood Of The Dead. The Reason followed, and they had a sound more obviously influenced by the headliners. Their set featured a mix of new and old material, and they played well. But I've never been into them and this set didn't change my opinion.

As good as the openers were, this was clearly a Grade show. Before the main act even stepped foot on the stage, the front of the floor section began chanting their name. This only intensified as the lights dimmed and the opening chords of "Conceptualizing Theories In Motion" rang out, marking the beginning of an hour-plus set that rarely let up.

Grade played material primarily from Under The Radar and Separate The Magnets, with a few exceptions. All of the night's songs were note-perfect and full of energy. To say the crowd ate it up would be an understatement. From the stage dives that started with the first song to the final singalong, the audience was as into it as the band were.

This was most evident with the show closer, "The Inefficiency Of Emotion." After eschewing the typical encore in favour of a more cohesive set, Bishop led the audience through an extended breakdown that saw the band fade out to the words sung by the crowd. By the time Grade kicked in to close the track, the entire room was in a frenzy of smiles and euphoric tears.

As they left the stage, Bishop stated, "Thanks, we were Grade," making it clear that this was probably the end. That's fine, since the night would be a fitting final chapter in Grade's history. After the way they fell apart, it was great to see them with their best lineup, capping off one perfect night with a room full of friends and fans.

Here is Grade's set list:
"Conceptualizing Theories In Motion”
“Stolen Bikes Ride Faster”
“For The Memory Of Love”
“Little Satisfactions”
“Tension Between Stillness And Motion”
“The Joy Of Stupidity”
“When Something Goes To Your Head”
“The Worst Lies Are Told In Silence”
“The Adaptation Of Means”
“Seamless”
“Life Gets In The Way Of Living”
“Victims Of Mathematics”
“Termites Hollow”
“Symptoms Of Simplifying The Simplistic”
“Weave”
“To Illustrate And Design Parameters”
“Triumph And Tragedy”
“The Tie That Binds”
“The Inefficiency Of Emotion"

To check out some of Nikki Ormerod's photos from the Grade concert, click here.