WORDS AND PHOTOS BY DARRYLL MAGBOO
Beth Gibbons stepped onto the foggy, dimly lit stage at Massey Hall on April 6th to a wave of gracious applause—a fitting welcome for a legend long absent from the stage. Performing in support of her long-awaited solo debut Lives Outgrown, the show opened with the album’s first three tracks, slightly reordered but instantly recognizable to those who already immersed themselves in its spiritual, slow-burning world. Tell Me Who You Are Today set the tone with a ghostly calm, and from that moment forward, Gibbons became our guide through a set that felt more like a ceremony than a concert.
Her voice—unmistakably fragile yet unwavering—echoed hauntingly through the venue, calling up the same spine-tingling sensations Portishead fans know well. The band was locked in from the start, with crisp percussion, resonant strings, and sharp guitar lines creating a space where Gibbons’ vocals could both float and strike. Light beams danced across Massey’s multiple sections as the music entered every corner. The hypnotic set occasionally broke from the newer material, including a crowd-favourite performance of Tom the Model from Out of Season, whose big-band groove added an energy surge later in the show.
By the time the encore arrived—seemingly summoned by unrelenting applause. A stripped-back version of Portishead’s Roads helped close the night, its delicate arrangement focusing entirely on the raw, emotion of Gibbons’ voice. The absence of heavy drums and bass only intensified its impact, turning a classic into something even more intimate and immediate.
Some shows are elevated by their setting, and Gibbons’ performance felt made for Massey Hall. The venue’s famously rich acoustics elevated every nuance of her sound, making it hard to imagine this show working as well anywhere else in the city. Lives Outgrown may deal in themes of mortality and closure, but in Toronto, it felt like a powerful new chapter—one where the past haunted the present beautifully, and the music carried the weight of everything left unsaid.
Aron Harris
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