The Trews At The Shelter In Detroit Michigan With Opener Huttch
Written and Captured By | Brad Reiter
The Trews brought their ‘I Wanna Play U.S. Dates’ tour to a packed house at The Shelter on a cold February night in Detroit Michigan. The basement bar stage underneath St. Andrew’s Hall has seen plenty of musical history over the years and is perhaps best known for some of the rap battle scenes from the movie 8 Mile.
The Trews are a rock band originally from the small Eastern Canadian town of Antigonish that are now based out of Hamilton, Ontario. They are a multi-time Juno nominated ensemble with a host of chart-topping hits. They are fronted by vocalist Colin MacDonald and guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, long time bassist Jack Syperek and new drummer Gavin Maguire. The band is known throughout Canada as a hard rocking group with a high energy live show and the performance at The Shelter lived up to the reputation. Indeed, the concert felt almost like hometown show with most of the audience seemingly comprised of Trewbadours travelling across the border from South Detroit (Windsor).
See more photos of The Trews HERE
The audience was treated to plenty of their greatest hits including Hope and Ruin, So She’s Leaving and Highway of Heroes. This song was inspired by the 2006 death of Capt.Nichola Goddard a female Canadian soldier from Antigonish who was killed in combat serving in Afghanistan. It refers to the stretch of Highway 401 in Ontario, between CFB Trenton and downtown Toronto, where hundreds gather on bridges and overpasses to mourn soldiers killed in service while the bodies of the fallen soldiers are transported to the coroner’s office in downtown Toronto. This track has grown to a patriotic anthem in Canada and was warmly received by the primarily Canadian audience.
The Trews were supported by Huttch, an up-and-coming indie rock from Windsor that was a hard charging blend of 70s rock mixed even with a bit of a disco grove laid down by drummer Robbie Cervi. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.
See more photos of Huttch HERE
Overall, the Trews played well to the intimate basement venue. Dim lights and a small stage provided a nice connection to the audience with the band occasionally playing amongst the crowd including John MacDonald even bar surfing near the end of show! The Trews are continuing their tour with dates in Indianapolis, Chicago, Prince Edward Island and Winnipeg.