On May 7, Pacing and Cheekface played at the Axis Club in Toronto, Ontario. I had been looking forward to this show for months and couldn’t wait to make the trek into the city, grab my spot on the floor, and experience the joy of live music.
I settled into my place on the floor and Pacing - Katie, Vonnie, and Ben - soon took the stage for their first Canadian show. The band came out and started into the “tortilla chip bag song” which commemorates the long description on the back of a bag of Las Fortunitas Tortilla Chips - we don’t have this kind of tortilla chip in Canada but the crowd was quickly won over by the energy and tongue-in-cheekness the song was delivered with. Lead singer Katie took up her guitar and introduced the next song as “A song about killing Tony Soprano” before the band launched into “The Family”. People were clapping along and dancing so I think it’s safe to say there were several Sopranos fans who also wanted to be the Big Boss.
The upbeat “Sunny <3” was next which showcased not only how well the band played together but also the range of Katie’s voice. Just try not to sing along with “It’s gonna be good / It’s gonna be so good”, it is so melodic and so catchy. “Bite Me”, the opening track from their 2023 album Real poetry is always about plants and birds and trees and the animals and milk and honey breathing in the pink but real life is behind a screen, was next up and Vonnie played both bass and drums during this song. People started singing along with “You can bite if it makes you feel any better” and the energy in the audience began to build. “I want to go outside!!!!!” followed and gave voice to the sense of dread and stress so many of us feel daily.
But going outside is never all stress, sometimes you find things that boggle your mind which the band pointed out as they shared a story about seeing the words “What day is it Wednesday” in a casino in Arizona without any punctuation. The band then bounced the phrase around, emphasizing different syllables to try to figure out its true meaning. The crowd was laughing along with the band and the vibe in the room was great.
The next song “Annoying Email” got everyone dancing and the lyrics made great use of email cliches. For the next song, “Boyfriends” (which elicited a cheer from the crowd), Katie brought a member of the audience up on stage to demonstrate the “more complicated paddy cake” clapping sequence that would come up later in the song. She urged us to turn to the person next to us and make new friends “because that’s what Cheekface shows are all about”. Everyone was having a blast trying to keep up with the pattern of the clapping game and it added an extra layer to the song.
Katie introduced the next song as “an upbeat depression banger” and the band went into their new song “Nothing! (I wanna do)” which came out earlier in the day along with the announcement of their upcoming album Pl*net F*tness. The band introduced themselves afterward with one interesting fact about them which included Katie winning second prize for an art project, Vonnie winning an award for marching band, and Ben being kicked off the basketball team in middle school. Then Katie played a voice memo from Mike Park of Asian Man Records where he told everyone to follow Pacing on Instagram. The lights came up at this point so Katie could survey the crowd. This got a laugh but a fair amount of people around me had their phones out and were following Mike Park’s suggestion (as they should).
The next song Pacing played was a cover of Randy Newman’s “Political Science” which featured a kazoo solo from Katie. The band rounded out their set with “Live / Laugh / Love” and after Katie sang, “This part of the song is a placeholder / To save myself from saying something stupid” she held out the microphone to the crowd where someone grabbed it and gave their friend a shoutout. The crowd was singing along to “Live, laugh, love” at the end and it was a fitting way to end a set filled with great energy, lots of heart, and lots of audience participation.
Not long after Pacing left the stage, two giant pigeons (like the one on the cover of their 2025 album Middle Spoon) were brought out to frame the drum kit. The buzz of the crowd got more intense as more people came in and soon, America’s local band Cheekface came on the stage to cheers. The band - Greg on vocals and guitar, Mandy on bass and backing vocals, Echo on drums, and AJ on synths/keys/aux percussion - picked up their instruments and launched into “Popular 2”. The crowd instantly began to dance and sing along, both of which would only increase in energy and volume as the night went on. Without missing a beat, the band went into “Best Life” followed by “Flies” which had the crowd answering the lines “What do you think?” with exuberant “Wooo”s.
At some point Greg said, “Go Leafs!” and they won their game that night. Cheekface didn’t perform in Toronto for the following two Leafs games and they lost. Coincidence? I think not.
We let Cheekface feel our energy as they went into “Featured Singer” which contained an incredibly fun cover of the “Cha-Cha Slide”. Everyone was clapping their hands, stomping their feet, taking it back, and cha-cha-ing real smooth and the joy in the air was palpable - both onstage and in the crowd. Greg also led the crowd in the vocal runs during that song and I think we did pretty well.
“We Need a Bigger Dumpster” came next and the crowd went even wilder. The dancing kicked up a notch when the band seamlessly incorporated some of Chappell Roan’s smash hit “Pink Pony Club” into the song, which works extremely well and is one of the best mashups I’ve heard. “We Need A Bigger Dumpster” was the song that got me into Cheekface and being able to sing (or let’s be honest, scream) along with “Everything is fine” was one of the highlights of the night for me and also provided some much-needed catharsis.
It wouldn’t be a Cheekface show without some ska and the band delivered with “Rude World” which was followed by “Life in a Bag” and “Growth Sux” (it really does but when you can dance to a song about how much it sucks, it makes everything better). The chorus of “I Only Say I’m Sorry When I’m Wrong Now” prompted an amazing sing-a-long which was followed by “Wind Is Gone” during which everyone was singing along with “Dial 999-9999”.
Then it was time for another original Cheekface composition, this time about noodles. If you are unfamiliar with “Noodles” (which is off their 2022 album Too Much to Ask), you should stop reading this review right now and go listen to it. The energy in the room intensified, people were jumping everywhere, and a pit opened up as every single person sang along to “A big cup of noodles / A giant cup of noodles” with unbridled glee. The band was having an absolute blast on stage as they ripped through three goes of “Noodles”, upping the ante each time.
After “When Life Hands You Problems” the band launched into “Military Gum” which featured a blast of “Give It Away” by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. AJ handled vocals and didn’t miss a word, going at high speed. Greg and Mandy played perfectly off each other and Echo’s drums were on point. “Eternity Leave” and “Art House” followed before AJ, Mandy, and Echo left the stage.
Greg was up there with his guitar and started up “Next to Me (Yo Guy Version)”. There was a great call-and-response at the end of the song where he leaned into the microphone and gave a very deep “Yo” before leaning back and smiling as the crowd responded with, “Shut the fuck up!” AJ, Mandy, and Echo came back on stage during this and soon the band started up the infinitely catchy “Content Baby” and followed it up with “You Always Want to Bomb the Middle East”.
Greg took a minute to address the crowd and talked about how hard it can feel to do anything when you (and your phone) are constantly inundated with fascists making fascist proclamations but that despite that, it is important to still do something whether that’s being part of your community, playing music with your friends, or going to shows. This elicited many cheers and one yell of “Fuck Donald Trump” from the crowd. The band expressed how much goes into putting a show together and shouted out some of the people who helped make that happen including their crew, G Leonardo, and people at the venue like Alex and Quinn.
Then they played their final few songs, “Dry Heat/Nice Town”, “Hard Mode”, “Listen to Your Heart.” “No.” (which had great moments of crowd participation with everyone yelling “No”), and “Living Lo-Fi”. The band reiterated how grateful they were that people had shown up and the importance of community before leaving the stage for a quick water break in preparation for meeting members of the audience.
From start to finish, this show felt like a true celebration of togetherness. The energy in the room was unmatched and everyone - both in the crowd and on stage - looked like they were having a blast. There was so much pure joy at this show and it showed up whether people were dancing, singing, jumping around in the “Noodles” pit, or just watching the bands. It was truly joyful catharsis. Life can be tough but nights like these make everything worth it.