Words and photos by Els Durnford

On February 3, 2008, The Balconies took to the stage for the first time here in Ottawa. The band probably didn’t know what the future held at that time, but they quickly jumped down the rabbit hole into the unknown. Shows led to tours, tours led to funding, funding led to albums, which ultimately led to more tours. Their fan base grew from being their Ottawa friends to friends around the world, playing stages from SXSW to Europe.

Saturday night’s show was one of two for the band’s final send off for those loyal hometown friends and fans. Friday’s show appeared packed from the many Snapchats and Instagram stories floating around, and a line quickly grew outside The 27 Club despite the snow beginning to fall. The Love Machine reunited and opened up the night, and they too drew many familiar faces which were easy to spot as they wore shirts clearly reading THIS IS LOVE. Sing-a-longs of their early songs solidified that fans were in the house, and even those who weren’t familiar were able to sing and dance along to their catchy songs.

Finally the time had come for the much anticipated final show for The Balconies. The stage presence of lead singer Jacquie Neville energized the crowd, getting them to jump along to their favorite songs along with her signature hair flipping throughout the set. Though the small venue made for an intimate final evening, she was quick to point out the family support in the room, letting everyone know her grandmother, and other family members were in the house continuing to support them. The set began relatively early for a headliner, which meant the audience was in for a 90-minute set to tie-off the ten year journey of the band. During the final song (pre-encore) Jacquie hopped off the stage into the audience to have a sing-a-long, hug it out with some family and friends before hopping back on stage pointing out that everyone looked like they had cut onions before coming out.

As the band re-entered for the encore, they took a moment as they emotions of the room hit the stage and reality set in that these were the final moments for the band. A slow song to capture that emotion first, before getting the energy back up to end the night. Joined on stage by The Love Machine, they danced it out with the crowd before giving Ottawa one final bow.

Gallery

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