It’s been four long years since the Canadian glam rockers of Marianas Trench have visited Arizona, and the excitement bubbling from the fans was palpable last week. The Van Buren hosted a sizable crowd for the band’s Suspending Gravity Tour stop, and they succeeded in exceeding all past expectations.
Fresh off the release of their latest album, Phantoms, Marianas Trench had plenty of new material to add to their set. Beginning with a dramatic video intro, the night turned into a story, weaving old and new songs into a concept concert with each member playing their parts to perfection.
Singer Josh Ramsay was all flourish and flamboyance, sparkling in his bedazzled jacket and signature blue tresses. His falsetto reached the stratosphere for songs like “Only the Lonely Survive” and “I Knew You When”, and the band got the audience to groove to “Stutter” and “Pop 101”.
Guitarist Matt Webb and bassist Mike Ayley provided stellar harmonies, while drummer Ian Casselman bashed away in the background. Plenty of fans in the crowd were seeing Marianas Trench for the very first time and emotions ran high for the entire night, culminating in more than a few tears for Ramsay’s solo performance of “One Love”. The band closed with an incredible encore of “Who Do You Love” and new track “The Killing Kind”, leaving fans yearning for a shorter time between the band’s visits to the West Coast.
Check out photos from the show!
Story and photos by Olivia Khiel