Papa Roach is currently touring across Canada on their Rise of the Roach tour, celebrating 25 years of the hit album Infest, and the tour rolled into Toronto last Friday to rock a packed Coca Cola Coliseum. As a photographer first, I was disappointed to once again be declined to shoot the band; it seems as if they are anti-photographer. So, no pro shots this time, but I have included some shots from Marv’s friend Erin.
This is my third time seeing Papa Roach in the last few years, having seen them both at a smaller club show in Toronto and headline Wacken Open Air in Germany. Big stage or small, club show or festival, these guys know how to command the stage, and off! Frontman Jacoby entered the crowd not once, but twice, during their 1.5-hour set. At one point he made an entire lap of the venue, going through rows of fans taking selfies, giving hugs and high fives, while performing a medley of cover songs including Korn’s "Blind" and Limp Bizkit’s "Break Stuff".
Jacoby is a fantastic frontman and clearly has a lot of respect and appreciation for the band's fans. While many of his between-song banters feel preplanned and recited, throughout the show he regularly made personal, one-on-one interactions with fans in the crowd. Whether it be acknowledging a fan holding a “YOUR MUSIC SAVED MY LIFE” sign or pointing out someone dressed as a banana in the mosh pit, these moments felt very genuine and were just really nice to witness from a “rock star”.
Not to forget the rest of the band, who all played extremely well with high energy. Overall the band sounded extremely tight! The setlist was a solid 20 tracks featuring songs from across their 30+ year career, and they kept the vibe high with constant use of pyro, which is always a fun time. As a band that is loud on the issue of mental health, they also took time in the set to discuss suicide prevention and shout out CAMH, sharing that proceeds of ticket sales were going to the organization.
The night ended with their biggest hit, “Last Resort,” which the crowd went absolutely wild for. Usually you see lots of people dipping early once the encore starts, but I definitely didn’t see much of that for this show, everyone needed to be there for that classic. Overall, a fun night was had!
Review written by Rae Chatten @raerocknroam
