All Photo Credit: Eric Brisson
Beartooth
March 8, 2026
Place Bell, Montreal, QC
There are shows you enjoy, and then there are shows that stay with you—etched into your memory like a permanent soundtrack. March 8th at Place Bell was the latter. A stacked lineup featuring President, Beartooth, and Bad Omensdelivered one of the best nights of live music I’ve experienced in my life—and I loved every single second of it.
President: Mystery, Masks, and a Crushing Opening
Kicking off the night, President walked onto the stage cloaked in anonymity—every member masked, standing behind a lectern emblazoned with a glowing red Cross of Lorraine. It immediately set the tone: dark, theatrical, and intriguing.
Despite the dim lighting (which, admittedly, made it hard to actually see them), the atmosphere only added to their mystique. And the sound? Massive. Heavy, tight, and polished. Tracks like Angel Wings and Destroy Me hit hard, and their set felt deliberate and well-executed from start to finish.
If this is your first exposure to President, it won’t be your last. There’s something brewing here—and I can absolutely see this band exploding in the near future.
Beartooth: The Heart, The Fire, The Highlight
Let’s not pretend otherwise—this was the moment for me.
Beartooth is my favorite band, and to say I was excited would be a massive understatement. Getting the opportunity to photograph them made it even more surreal, and I’m beyond grateful to their team for making that happen.
From the second they launched into Might Love Myself and In Between, it was game on. An 11-song, no-frills, all-bangers set that didn’t waste a single second. This wasn’t just a performance—it was a full-on emotional release.
When Doubt Me hit, the pit turned into pure chaos—in the best possible way. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I had that much fun with a crowd, screaming every word alongside a sea of fans who felt just as connected as I did.
And then came Free.
I had been waiting for that moment, and holy hell—it didn’t disappoint. Seeing Caleb Shomo unleash that track live was something special. Raw, powerful, and completely electrifying. A “Free” Caleb is an unstoppable force.
But for me, Sunshine stole the show. Those riffs? They’ve been living rent-free in my head ever since.
Closing with The Past Is Dead and Riptide, Beartooth left everything on that stage. Caleb capped it off with a jaw-dropping vocal moment—stepping away from the mic and still commanding the entire room, pulling the crowd in with him. It felt intimate and massive at the same time.
What a show. Honestly, I walked away thinking: how does anyone follow that? I even told myself I’d stick around for a few songs from the headliner and call it a night.
Yeah… that didn’t happen.
Bad Omens: A Headliner Masterclass
I’ll admit it—I underestimated just how hard Bad Omens would hit live.
From a production standpoint alone, they were on another level. Lights, visuals, pacing—it all came together into a seamless, cinematic experience. The band was locked in, and Noah Sebastian? A bona fide rock star.
I planned to leave after The Death of Peace of Mind. Instead, I stayed for the entire set.
That says everything.
The 18-song performance was structured with five taped interludes that gave the band brief resets without breaking the immersion. It was smart, intentional, and incredibly effective. Every detail felt thought out.
If there’s one tiny critique, it’s that Noah didn’t speak much between songs—aside from a quick “Hi Montreal” early on (we’ll forgive the Laval mix-up). But when he did finally open up later in the set, joking about it and engaging the crowd, it was genuine and hilarious.
And then came Dethrone.
Easily one of the most electrifying moments of the night—the crowd chanting “Concrete! Concrete!” in unison before the breakdown hit. Absolutely unreal.
Final Thoughts
This show had everything: mystery, chaos, emotion, precision, and spectacle. It was a reminder of why live music matters—why we chase these nights, these moments, these feelings.
But for me, Beartooth was the heart of it all. The connection, the energy, the authenticity—it’s something you don’t just watch, you feel. And on March 8th, I felt all of it.
One of the best shows I’ve ever seen. No question.
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