The Last Wednesday In Calgary: Ekoh and Chris Webby Concert Review

By Kayla Harper

Chris Webby is currently embarking on his Last Wednesday Tour in support of the Wednesday album series, consisting of seven albums spanning seven years: Wednesday, Next Wednesday, Wednesday After Next, 28 Wednesdays Later, Still Wednesday, Wednesday Before Last and Last Wednesday.  Many artists are accompanying him on tour including Grieves and Whitney Peyton among others.  However, I was most excited to see the independent rapper, Ekoh, in the lineup as I’ve been a fan of him for many years.

Being a fan of Ekoh as long as I have, I’ve gotten to see his hard work pay off as his career’s grown and he’s remained completely independent with no label interference; it’s truly inspiring to so many fellow and aspiring independent artists.  Ekoh truly makes an effort to connect with each and everyone of his fans and show them he appreciates their support.

I’ve had many conversations with Ekoh online through DMs, comment sections and livestreams and many times I had asked him to play a show in Calgary.  Of course the first time he did it was at an age-restricted 18+ venue, three days before my 18th birthday.  Although I knew this was out of his control, I asked him if there was anything he could do, he suggested I contact the venue to see if they’d make an exception and they didn’t.  I was bummed to miss it, so I was very excited to see him coming back this year and would not miss it this time around.

I brought my best friend Wes with me.  He wore the signed Ekoh hat I bought him a couple years prior and I wore my signed Ekoh shirt and vans of course.  When we first got to the venue, I wanted to check out the merch during the openers set.  When we got in the merch line I had no idea Ekoh would be at the merch table and that I would get to meet him.  I was slightly panicking because I had no idea what I was going to say to him, but I was mostly excited!

As soon as it was my turn, Ekoh recognized me right away from all the years of talking and liking my posts online including the one earlier that day, he put his hand up for a high five and said “Hey I saw your post earlier, glad you finally made it out to a show!” I told him I was really excited to finally see one of his shows and that it was nice to meet him.  I bought a t-shirt which he also offered to sign and got a photo.  I panicked and bought a size medium, thinking it would be slightly oversized…it’s huge on me, but that’s okay!  I’m going to cherish it forever because it reminds me of this awesome day and interaction.

By the time we reached the crowd to watch the show there was a perfect opening at front of the side stage so we made our way to it.  I ended up right at barricade, which is the closest I’ve ever been at a show!  Though I’m short, I felt bad for the people behind us because Wes is really tall…but I’ve been stuck behind really tall people at concerts before, it happens unfortunately.

Ekoh’s set was phenomenal and worth the wait!  From rapping, to singing -he crushed it!  His stage presence and ability to connect with every member of the crowd while performing was impressive  -he did so seamlessly and the best out of any artist that night.  It was cool that he had a real drummer on stage as well, rather than just using a backing track.  His vocals were exactly like the studio versions of his songs, however, even better because of the extra energy due to the live performance.

The way Ekoh blends rap and hard rock in tracks like “Goodbye Happiness” and one of my favourites, “Hole In Your Head”, sets him apart from other rap artists.  He can rap impressively fast, but also has an amazing voice for singing, especially the hard rock genre.

At the end of his set, Ekoh played “Freeverse 3” which is the song that started the tradition where fans carefully throw their vans shoes on the stage and Ekoh signs them.  I’d been waiting for this moment for years and threw my shoe up.  He signed them all while rapping each verse to the song.

Webby’s set was last and was also incredible, however, I definitely enjoyed Ekoh’s the most, his energy was unmatched!   Webby moved through each Wednesday album in order, playing a couple hits from each one, bringing out Grieves and Ekoh for their collaborations.  I though it was funny that he was drinking a bottle of Jameson’s Irish whisky during his set because it’s my drink of choice.

Wes and I ended up moving to the back for Webby’s set, it was getting really hot up front and we needed water and fresh air bad.  The view was just as great and the show was just as much fun from the back too.

I’m so grateful for this experience, it was more than I’d hoped, I never expected I’d actually get to meet Ekoh, or that he would know who I was.  I also did not think I’d be as close as I was for his set.   I enjoy writing these concert reviews informally, more like journal entries because it helps me remember the event in the most detail!  Thanks for reading!