Forming in the late 1980s, Crash Vegas made a name for themselves in the Toronto scene, releasing three albums before disbanding in 1996. Since then, frontwoman Michelle McAdorey has released several solo albums while guitarist Colin Cripps has been a member of Blue Rodeo for a few years now, but the band is now back together.
Recently reunited around the reissue of their 1990 debut album Red Earth, they took to the stage at the Danforth Music Hall for their first Toronto show in over 20 years after playing a show in Waterloo a couple of days before. And while it’s certainly been awhile, Crash Vegas definitely didn’t sound out of practice as they ran through a set that focused on songs off of Red Earth along with a few others from throughout their career as well as a couple of songs from McAdorey’s latest solo effort, Into Her Future.
Cripps, McAdorey and original drummer Ambrose Pottie were joined for the reunion shows by Anna Ruddick on bass and Julie Fader on keyboards. In addition to keyboards, Fader added beautiful harmonies throughout the night, most memorably on set closer “You And Me.”
Playing as if no time had passed, the band sounded great on old numbers such as “Inside Out,” their cover of Neil Young’s “Pocahontas,” and the highlight of the evening, “Smoke,” which Cripps referred to as their torch song.
It’s not clear whether Crash Vegas has any plans for the future beyond a handful of reunion shows, but it’s nice to have them back, even if just for a little while.