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Mammoth WVH was welcomed to Toronto with open arms at Danforth Music Hall in support of their latest album Mammoth II bringing Nita Strauss for their ‘first kind of headline run ever’ and a match made. Wolfgang praised Nita Strauss, “Shoutout to Nita Strauss and her amazing band for being here, this is quite the fucking tour, this is amazing, very happy to be a part of this!” 

Strauss visited Toronto for the second time this year and performed tracks from her album released in June, The Call Of The Void. Her song “Victorious” is anthemic and inspires one to pursue their dreams against all odds. 

Nita brought along a team of warriors; Johnny Young (Rhythm guitar), Josh Villalta (Drums), Kasey Karlsen (vocals), Katt Scarlett (Keyboard) and Christopher Dean (Bass). You can tell by their energetic stage presence as a whirlwind storm, they are PUMPED to be touring with Mammoth WVH! 

When Mammoth WVH descended onto the stage, Wolfgang was humbled by the turnout in Toronto, “I didn’t think this many people would show up holy shit!” 

What was endearing about the fans was seeing families spanning multiple generations from grandparents to children gathering collectively to witness the magic of Mammoth WVH & Nita Strauss. 

The setlist entailed tracks from both albums Mammoth and Mammoth II. As Wolfgang was switching guitars from electric to acoustic, he started strumming the intro of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and abruptly stopped and jokingly said, “Tomorrow you will hear in the news Toronto had a mass walkout out during Mammoth’s WHV show.” 

Wolfgang performed a solo rendition of “Distance”, a tribute to his father on acoustic which echoed into the hearts of the audience. Although the track was recorded with three guitars on the album, Wolfgang chose to perform the song acoustically as originally written to share with fans. 

I was standing at the back of the venue where the sound was still crisp as it was in the front and felt as if I was alone with Wolfgang in a crowded room, his clean vocals were flawless alongside a minimalist tapping beat on the acoustic, that’s how powerful and intimate his performance was. 

Followed by “Distance”, Wolfgang chose to perform “Waiting”, “So there’s a song on Mammoth II sort of a sequel thematically to ‘Distance’, I always thought it would be a great time to play it live right after ‘Distance.’” 

After performing “Distance” and “Waiting”, Wolfgang said in jest, “Alright I know what the dudes are thinking, where’s the heavy shit!”

Between songs, Wolfgang always kept the banter engaging the audience to cheer, “Left side! Right side! Just the balcony! Everybody! This one dude right here in the Warning shirt fuck yeah!” 

After performing for nearly an hour and a half, the night that fell on a new moon closed with “Don’t Back Down” and reflective of its title, Mammoth WVH did not back down turning up the notch with full force ending the evening on a high note. 

Mammoth WVH and Nita Strauss continue their run throughout North America, ending December 9 in Los Angeles.