An emotional night of heavy music, remembrance, and healing at MTELUS.
Who: Mastodon, Deafheaven
When: September 27, 2026
Where: MTELUS, Montreal, QC
Mastodon Montreal Show Review: An Emotional Night at MTELUS
Some shows are about the music. Others become something much bigger than that. Mastodon at MTELUS on September 27 was both, and then some.
As a fan of Mastodon since their early days, this was always going to be a difficult show for me. It wasn’t lost on me that this would be the first time I’d see them without their guitarist, Brent Hinds, who tragically lost his life in a motorcycle accident. From the moment the show was announced, I knew there would be an emotional weight to the evening. What I didn’t expect was just how much more it would mean to me.
Earlier this month, Montreal lost one of its own icons, my friend Susan Moss, a legendary photographer who captured so much of the soul of this city’s music scene. This would be my first time back in the pit without Susan there for our usual lovely chat before the bands took the stage.
And honestly? I was scared shitless.
The thought of walking into MTELUS and not having her by my side was harder than I wanted to admit. Who the hell was going to give me a “fuck you” and a piece of gum? Who was I going to share those little pre-show moments with, the ones that become part of the ritual, part of the reason you keep showing up?
Susan was so much more than a photographer. She was a presence. A force. One of those people who made the Montreal scene feel like home. She had her own way of making you feel seen, usually with a sharp remark, a bit of attitude, and a whole lot of heart. You don’t fully understand the space someone occupies in your life until you walk into a familiar place and realize they’re no longer there.
I loved that woman. And I miss her like hell.
Add to that the loss of Brent Hinds, whose place in Mastodon’s story is impossible to ignore, and the whole night felt like an emotional whirlwind. Two different losses, two different worlds, but both reminders of how deeply music connects us to people, memories, and moments that stay with us long after the lights go up.
Mastodon Deliver a Powerful and Cathartic Performance
And yet, somehow, this show was therapeutic as hell.
Mastodon were absolutely fantastic. Super solid, tight, and completely on point. They sounded incredible, and the visuals were phenomenal, adding another dimension to an already powerful performance. There was a heaviness to the night that went beyond the music, but the band delivered in every way that mattered. They came out and did what they do best, and there was nothing to complain about. No notes. Just a hell of a show.
It was emotional, cathartic, and exactly what I needed, even if I didn’t realize it going in. Sometimes you need to stand in a crowd, feel the floor shake beneath your feet, let the music hit you in the chest, and allow yourself to feel everything you’ve been carrying around. The sadness, the gratitude, the memories, the love. All of it.
Deafheaven Set the Tone at MTELUS
Deafheaven opened the night, and they were an absolute force. Energetic as hell, completely immersive, and seemingly getting better with age. They set the tone beautifully and reminded everyone that heavy music can be as emotionally expansive as it is crushing. A seriously solid opener for a seriously memorable night.
More Than Music: A Night of Remembrance and Healing
I walked into MTELUS carrying a lot of grief. For Brent, for Susan, and for the strange, uncomfortable reality of learning how to keep showing up to the places and things you love when some of the people who made them special are no longer there.
I left feeling a little lighter.
Not because the sadness was gone, but because, for a couple of hours, it had somewhere to go.
That’s the beautiful thing about this music and this scene. We lose people. We hurt. We keep going. We gather in dark rooms, stand shoulder to shoulder, and let bands turn all that noise inside our heads into something we can actually feel.
And Susan, I hope you know how much you were loved. I wish you’d been there in the pit with me, talking shit, handing out gum, and making the whole damn thing feel a little more like home. I would have given anything for one more of those moments.
This one was for you, too.
Mastodon delivered. Deafheaven crushed it. And Montreal, as always, showed up.
A hell of a show. An emotional one. And a reminder that even when the people we love are gone, the music, the memories, and the love they left behind are still very much alive.
For more photos from the show, head to our Facebook page.
