october 31, 2024 - toronto, ontario

With dim lights and an anxiously energetic crowd, the Despicable Me Moon Landing Theme Song announces the arrival of The Home Team for an unforgettable Halloween show late Thursday night at Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Embracing the Halloween spirit, and the fully costumed crowd, The Home Team drives the energy in the theatre through the roof as soon as they hit the stage.

Gru, aka lead singer Brian Butcher, with minions Ryne Olson on bass, guitarist John Baran, and drummer Daniel Matson, completely take over the venue on the last stop of The Dumbstruck Dumbfuck North American Tour supporting headliner Neck Deep. Fresh off the release of their latest record, The Crucible of Life, the band looks like they were born to be on stage, maintaining the high energy of their self-dubbed “heavy pop” throughout the entire setlist.

Kicking off their set with “Brag”, The Home Team has the crowd dancing from the beginning of the first song. With the setlist dominated by songs off of The Crucible of Life, and the 2021 release, Slow Boom, each new song is met with a chorus of cheers from the audience. Hit songs like “Right Through Me” and “Move It or Lose It” have fans jumping and crowd surfing as the energy surges through the venue.

The band flexes their metal roots with tracks like “Hell” as members dance along with the audience on stage, before shaking ass to more pop-ier tracks like “Watching All Your Friends Get Rich”, displaying their full musical range and offering something to draw in every fan in the audience. Watching The Home Team on stage, you can’t help but have fun alongside them. Their charisma and confident command of the room looks effortless as they completely draw you into their world.

Lead vocalist Butcher proves his control over the room as the band slows down for a more emotional moment with “Walk This World With Me” that has the crowd lighting flashlights and swaying along. Ending the set with “Loud”, The Home Team picks the energy back up and leaves the room dancing as they perfectly set up the crowd for headliner Neck Deep, who maintains the high energy late into the night.

The Home Team are undeniably fun to watch, and are set to play a few midwest shows this November before heading to the United Kingdom in December. Catch them at an upcoming show or check out their latest record, The Crucible of Life, out now on all streaming platforms.