After a six-year wait, indie rock artist Mac DeMarco has finally returned to Ontario to play and promote his latest album dubbed, “Guitar”. Massey Hall hosted the indie prince as well as the opening Australian band, Texcrick (another indie rock band) on Dec. 8 and 9, 2025.
Massey Hall was an illustrious venue that contrasted with the light tone of Mac DeMarco’s show, but to no degree did it hold the show back, if anything added to the show’s playful nature.
After a short time waiting in line, they began to let people in at around seven
p.m. and after a quick hour of last-second preparation, Texcrick strutted on stage. They began with a quick Pacific sounding instrumental, after which the singer explained in a raspy tone that he had lost his voice the night before and because of the given circumstances, their actwould be mainly composed of instrumental music. Regardless of the singer’s condition, they went on to play a stellar opening act. Did it feel drawn out? Yes, it did; the sounds of the fried singer’s voice started to lose its novelty after the 15th minute of a 30-minute set. The opening show was in no way disappointing, but it left something to desire and the question, what was missed, remained unanswered.
After a smooth opening act, the lack of people in the concert hall became much more apparent. Which was a surprise considering 30 minutes had passed since the audience were let in. After noticing this oddity, naturally, the next step was to take advantage of the situationand make way to the merch booth. Despite the line resembling a Canada’s Wonderland ride, half of it was taken care of in less than 13 minutes. Once the end of the line was reached, DeMarcos’ rise within the indie scene was made extremely apparent, reflected through merchandise pricing, with t-shirts being 50 dollars and hoodies at 80.
In any other circumstance, this would have been considered a daylight robbery. But DeMarco has come a long way, and he has put nothing but true emotion in his music, emotion that goes beyond the stream of sound found in the oversaturated realm of radio music. This is not an industry plant signed by some random label company. This is a man who started writing, producing and releasing out of his garage. These actions push the artist away from the real roots of the indie scene.
The idea of needing to pay anything above 35 dollars for a hoodie is completely outrageous, and the claim that he is in some way potentially selling out is a fair one to make. It could be, or maybe he is simply transitioning into a new chapter of his musical journey, maybe one that requires another degree of monetization.
After purchasing a (slightly expensive) shirt, the air began to feel different – more humid? Probably. Or maybe, the anticipation for the oncoming show had changed something both in the air and in the people waiting. The hall was suddenly packed. Like a magician pulling a rabbit from his hat, the lights turned off and on.
Lo and behold, the hall was filled with excited fans.
At ten p.m. the band made their way on stage and immediately the fans began to wail. DeMarco introduced himself, along with the individuals who would be making up the rest of the band and swiftly began playing the first song of the night, dubbed “Shining”. He went on to play 22 other songs.
What was most interesting was that it seemed most people in the hall were only familiar with a handful of these songs. The audible difference in noise between “Sweeter” and “On the Level” was slightly disheartening, but DeMarco handled it in stride. There were two flashlightcandle moments within the entire show, each equally breathtaking. But much like these flashlights, as quickly as the show began, it ended, and this old dog went home to rest.
Contributed Photo/Gabriel Loperena Tovar/Arts Contributor
