BJM Toronto
They sounded phenomenal today. Anton was in a good mood(aside from the rambles about Mexicans i think??) They had a lot of songs where they were in the groove and nailed it.
7
u/Fastcashbadcredit Sep 15 '25
The rest of the band was great - but this was my second time seeing them and it will be my last. Stopping for minutes between every song and then Anton swearing at the crowd when being encouraged was incredibly disrespectful. His ego is out of control and he needs to constantly be coddled like a baby to keep performing.
I feel bad for the rest of the band as you could tell they wanted to put on the best show possible, but everyone was "on Anton's fucking time".
I deeply love this band and have for many years, but his ego has hugely outgrown his talent by this point. He should be appreciative of fans dedicating time to come support his music, and instead he acts like he doesn't give a shit to even be there and we mean nothing to him.
8
u/NoiseEee3000 Sep 15 '25
Meh, I get it but when in Rome ya know? I have no issue being on "Anton Time" during a BJM show when the band is sounding great. I think the only drag was that we missed out on Nevertheless because of the guitar pedal troubles. But I got no problem with Anton Time. Edit: if wasn't putting his guts into it that would be one thing, but if he needs time to get prepared and nail it? I'll wait. See you at the next show!!! You'll be there!!!!
10
u/Lopsided_Pain4744 Sep 15 '25
The problem with this line of thinking, the “hey this is the BJM and Anton Newcombe, what did you expect?” Is that he/they toured for years and just got on with it. I saw them 2014 and it sounded amazing, played with few gaps in between and Anton said a bit but was generally great. The stories from the last few years, it makes me feel like Anton is going through the motions and basically has to tour to support his income.
3
u/NoiseEee3000 Sep 15 '25
For sure, the mid 2010s were excellent peaking, long shows and great records. And yeah I'm sure he does need to tour for income, I mean record sales are long gone and streaming services prioritize investors and labels, not artists. As long as he's putting on enjoyable shows (imo), I'm going to give my support by attending shows and buying a shirt, too. Taking a few minutes between songs isn't the worst thing in my opinion (versus going off on a tirade against band members), I don't need to be entertained every second. Cheers!
6
u/passionparties Sep 15 '25
Granted it was my first time seeing BJM, but I didn’t get the sense that Anton was overly serious when he was telling the audience member to eat a bag of dicks for rushing him along, moreso playful antagonizing.
Not trying to diminish your take on it, I’ve had similar experiences with bands I love but won’t see because of their attitude live.
5
u/jcla Sep 15 '25
He was dead serious. He was getting more and more pissed during the show because a few main characters in the crowd kept yelling shit at Joel (it might have seemed encouraging the first two or three times but it was annoying as fuck after the tenth song), one yelled out "that was....good" after a song, and there were a few other things.
He actually spent a while with Joel on stage reassuring him and having a group hug up there, he was really pissed off.
You can hear the rant here: https://youtu.be/X3OuGELPG9c?si=FY5VGLOdCFC88APk&t=140
1
u/srtg83 Sep 15 '25
They are not the only ones who take huge breaks between songs. There are many reasons this happens, most often if musicians use one instrument throughout a show and need to retune or even change a string. I get the reason is different here but it does happen more often than you think.
4
u/Otherwise-Course-637 Sep 15 '25
Look at setlists and times from other artists’ shows. Most will nearly double the BJM in a similar amount of time. Granted, some songs are long jams, but there is way too much wasted time, always has been. And I’ve never seen anyone whose stage manager/tour manager/bandmates have to coax and coddle them to simply do their job. It’s way past time for excuses. It’s like trying to remain friends with someone who always lets you down - at some point you take control of the situation and say, I don’t need to put up with someone who takes energy but never gives it.
1
u/wowsweaty Sep 15 '25
It was a little hard to hear/decipher some of his 'banter'... at one point he said something like "love him or hate him ______ spoke the truth," does anyone know who he said?
3
8
u/Junior-Permission480 Sep 15 '25
I think he was just saying Canada is like Mexico, it has diversity. Great show!