My most favorite musical act in the world was back in Toronto again this week, and I just had to be there!

I saw BABYMETAL for a third time in Toronto on Monday, September 7th. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to this one, since it was only a year ago since their last concert in Toronto and I don’t get over there nearly enough. Traveling isn’t easy, but it became important to me to be there. The show I saw in Toronto last year was great, but it wasn’t the experience I was hoping for. I was too far from the action, so it wasn’t the epic memory I was hoping it would be like when I saw them for the first time in 2023. Also, this was taking place at a large venue, the newly renamed RBC Amphitheatre, which was the same place I saw Weird Al Yankovic last year. Times are different now, even just one year later, and concert tickets are not selling like they used to across the board. I doubted that this show was going to sell out and was a bit worried that, if the attendance wasn’t great, this could be the last time I’d get to see BABYMETAL in a while. So, I put a few options on the board and made a point of being there. Thankfully worked out that I had one full day in the city.

But I wasn’t coming empty handed! I made a piece of BABYMETAL fanart and brought with me a handful of stickers to give away!

I handed these stickers out to anybody who I thought looked cool, who helped me out, who asked nicely for one, and kids. There were some cool cosplayers and lots of people decked out in metal style and ready to rock.

It seemed like, even though it wasn’t a sellout, there were a lot of people after all. The venue upgraded everyone who had bough a ticket to sit on the lawn up to actual seating, so the place wound up looking decently filled. As for me, I had no plans to sit anywhere! I was on the floor, and I got in early enough to be incredibly close to the front and right in the middle!

The night started with Violent Vira, and then continued with Halestorm. I was not familiar with either band, but they were great! Having 3 female-fronted metal acts together in one night was a powerful statement, and I was there for it.

BABYMETAL was absolutely electrifying! Being that close to the stage and seeing their facial expressions as they performed was amazing. They really put so much into the performance. Su-Metal sounded absolutely incredible! The set list was stacked with hits from all of their albums. I loved every one of the songs they played. Of note was “Algorisim” from their newest album “Metal Forth“, as it was the first time that song had ever been performed live in North America. I’ve got a recording of that on my Instagram, as well as some other stuff if you dig around.

I put together a video of some of the footage I captured. The sound quality in the video is very distorted because of how loud the music was and how close I was to it, and I did the best I could to at least make it not burst your eardrums, but this is more about capturing what it felt to be in the moment, preserving a taste of being so near the stage and seeing the action unfold. Something crazy happened towards the end, where Moa and Momo started cracking up! They did their best to hold it in, but it was clear that something happened to make them want to burst out laughing. Even while trying to keep their composure, they were still on point, perfectly executing all their moves.  It was like nothing I’d ever seen before in any concert footage, and it happened right in front me!

What a night. This was definitely my favorite of the 3 BABYMETAL concerts I’ve been to, and probably my favorite concert I’ve ever attended. I am so glad I made sure to be there. And I’m especially happy that I made those stickers to hand out. It was great seeing people’s reactions when I handed it to them. Some people were really shocked and dazzled by it. I’ve seen that other people would do gifts and giveaways at BABYMETAL concerts, and I figured it would just be a fun thing to do for the community, but I did not realize how much I needed to see other people so thrilled to get a sticker. I didn’t know it at the time, but I did that for me. I needed that.

So now what I need is to see BABYMETAL again! And next time, whenever and wherever that is, the plan will be set into motion! Not only will I bring more stickers, but I will try my hardest to make sure that a sticker finds its way on stage and into the hands of one of the members of the group! Let’s hope they come back to Canada again so I can manifest this into fruition! Will I accomplish my goal? Only the Fox God knows!

Sayonara.