Words cannot describe how I felt after listening to this man's set on Friday night, it was truly an amazing experience. Every note he played, whether it was on his piano or guitar, had such depth and emotion put into it. He was into his own music so much that his whole body moved with every note. His voice is sublime and made his music sound effortless. His voice has such a rich tone and was made even more enchanting by the occasional cracks in his voice.

Leif is an indie-folk singer from Ottawa who made is debut in 2010 with his first album "Inland". His third record released this year called "Twin Solitude", took my breath away with its calming rhythms and powerful vocals. However, his records don't do him any justice. I was taken aback by his intense performance and the connection that he had with his music. He would close his eyes and feel each beat and sound with his whole body, moving up, down and side to side with every note that he would play. In between songs, he was funny and quirky, he didn't just play a very heartfelt song that made the whole audience cry (one lady cried out at one point to Leif that she cried the whole concert). Overall, he put on one of the best shows I have seen in quite some time, there was nothing I would have changed...except maybe a longer set time because I couldn't get enough of him.
If you never heard Leif Vollebekk before, listen to my favourite song of his "Elegy" here (he also shows off his great dance moves in the video).

For those of you who don't know about Phantom Atlantic, they are an alternative indie rock band from Toronto! They have recently released a self titled EP over the past summer and played a show last night at Rivoli to show off their new tunes. 

After listening to their EP, I was super excited to see this band live not only because they have a great sound, but also because they're local and those are my favourite types of bands. Seeing their set last night exceeded my expectations and I became an instant fan! The emotion they put in their music could be felt by the whole audience, who was dancing and singing along to every song (I might have been dancing as well, just don't tell anyone). I will definitely being seeing Phantom Atlantic in the near future, or whenever they have their next show in Toronto. They are playing a show on December 8th in Ottawa if anyone will in the area.

If you wanted to take a listen to their wonderful EP, click here to listen.