A Showgoer’s Perspective; An Ocean Apart

Moving back to Canada after spending my high school years in Dubai was quite the change; there are plenty of societal differences, as one would expect, and readjusting to downtown Toronto’s norms took a little more time than I would care to admit. But I was expecting a familiar experience when I started going to metal shows here, as I had done in Dubai, if only a couple of times. I imagined that this was something that would help me make friends and integrate here as I had in Dubai—back there, my close friends and I all shared a love for loud, angry music, and in turn a love for wearing oversized band shirts while other people played said music.

Barring the initial slight awkwardness that comes with being in an unfamiliar environment, I had a great time—if different than the ones I’d had in Dubai. I caught big bands I loved such as Opeth and Meshuggah, and discovered—and even made friends with—other bands along the way. The crowds at Toronto metal shows are usually a friendly bunch, eager to make conversation about the bands they’re about to see. Also in the crowd are fans that are budding musicians in their own right and freelance photographers with cameras and photo passes. These quickly become constants. Slowly, some of these reoccurring faces, when not hidden behind cameras, become friends.
But were we to go back in time for a moment and meet up with a wide-eyed, excited, 15-year-old me being assaulted by feedback swells and standing in the “front row” (my first show took place in a hotel’s party room without a stage or barriers between the audience and performers), there was a different atmosphere entirely. The room was not awfully big and the bill consisted entirely of local talent, save for Lebanese up-and-comers Voice of the Soul, who were headlining the set. A good time and significant neck pains were had by all; we got to shake hands and hold conversations with every performer immediately after their sets, while others went to buy bootleg CDs from That One Ever-Present Guy who had a table set up in the back.

The metal scene in Dubai was small but extremely tight-knit; everybody seemed to know everyone else, and there was usually no more than one degree of separation from any stranger you’d chat up here or there. My experience was limited compared to the amount of show-going I do here in Toronto, but I recall that there was an overwhelming sense of welcoming and belonging to be found in Dubai. No one looked at you strangely for having an “uncool” band’s shirt on, and a lot of the events were organized by a select group of fans themselves, rather than by faceless promoters. Fans did take a blow in 2009 with the cancellation of the Dubai Desert Rock Festival, which at its apex hosted internationally-famous bands such as Motörhead, Mastodon, and Opeth. But that seemed only to bolster local efforts to keep the scene thriving. We took fierce pride in our local talent and strongly encouraged new bands; my own short-lived band formed with some friends (come on, we were teenagers) was offered a spot to perform very soon after word got out that we were even a thing, despite the fact that we barely had a single song written.

It bears mentioning that my limited experience meant I was not especially privy to whatever unpleasantness or discrimination may have gone on behind the scenes, if any did at all, and that I went to shows with an existing group of friends. In contrast, the Toronto scene took me a fair amount of time to get comfortable with, and the sheer scope of the scene made it harder to break into. That’s no one’s fault; Toronto is a major North American city with a much bigger population than Dubai, and a lot of really big tours visit here on a regular basis. However, I feel like this has led to a lack of the tight-knit, DIY spirit that I found so prominent in the Dubai scene, and it saddens me to see that that is not present here.

At the end of the day, I’m still going to keep going to shows here as often as university work allows, because I love the music and I’ve made some great friends along the way. However, I can’t help but wonder how many younger fans here don’t necessarily get the welcome and subsequent opportunities that 15-year-old me did in Dubai. Perhaps that will change one day—or perhaps I’m just not looking in the right places.