Rosanna Tomiuk in Toronto

Last month, I went to see Rosanna Tomiuk perform in Toronto. She performed with Jon Rosner, who will be representing Canada at the World Championships this month as Canada's #1 looper.

I first heard of Rosanna last summer when she released a song for the Canadian Olympic Team. She had hoped to be in London as a member of the Canadian water polo team (who had previously won the silver medal at the World Championships). She had started writing a song about her dream to become an Olympian but when the dream died at the Olympic trials, she stopped writing it.

As the Olympics approached, she had friends going to London who did make the Olympic Team so she decided to finish the song and post it on YouTube for them.



She almost didn't post it because the filming didn't go as well as she had hoped, but it led to a lot of wonderful things. You can read more about that experience here that culminated in her performing at the Air Canada Centre at the Olympic Hall Of Fame Induction Gala.

I especially love the album artwork with the Olympic coloured tears.

I started following her on Twitter and a couple of months later, I saw that she was going to perform in Toronto.

The first evening was at Burgundy's Bar and Restaurant at Yonge and Bloor. We were annoyed that we didn't bring our good camera because the lighting had been better the first evening for photo taking. My husband did capture a couple of shots on his iPhone including this great moment.

Just like they would the following night at Alleycatz (that happened to be a couple of blocks from my house), they started with an acoustic set that really showcased Rosanna's incredible voice and charm. Jon's guitar playing really complimented Rosanna's singing. She started the set with a cover of Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers followed by Capable from her EP. Rosanna was very comfortable in front of the crowd and was not shy to introduce the songs and tell us about the songs she was singing which added to the performance.

She explained the french lyrics of Capable "Maintenant t'es dans la merde, car tu m'as montré que t'es capable". Loosely translated as "now you're in deep, because you showed me what you're capable of", it means that once you show your potential, you can't go back to mediocrity. Many of her songs are sports related that I love, but above and beyond that, her words are spoken from her soul and are very touching. This was evident in the next song Walking Dead. It is a newer song that is not released yet. She wrote it when she came back from Haiti where she witnessed people who were not only poor financially but who were poor in hope and spirit.

She continued the set with Escape You with a melancholic longing sound and lyrics that include "I can't escape you, With everyday I die, A little inside".

She then got us singing with her cover of Happy by The Daylights "Only you can make me, Only you can make me Happy".

Before finishing the first set with Christmas carols, Rosanna performed another new song called Every Story Has A Twist that she wrote after going back into the pool for the first time with her Olympic dream over (for now). As much as I love her songs, I especially loved this one and it brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps on my skin as you can feel the emotions she had. It's absolutely beautiful causing me to write a separate post dedicated to it. You can read (and listen to the song) by clicking here.

The following are shots taken by my husband at Alleycatz. You can see the full set of photos by clicking here.

The second set saw Jon bring out his looping equipment and where we really got to see his talent. The set was more upbeat and began with Strong Woman, the Olympic-themed Made It and The Path You Choose from her EP.

I often find myself singing Strong Woman with the catchy lyric, "Pick yourself back up girl, it will be alright".

Made It was as amazing live as it is on the EP and gave me shivers. It's such an inspiring song sharing the feelings of the ups and downs of the athlete's life. "The fire comes back, 'Cause you dared, Even if scared" and the final message for our Olympians "I have made it, I have done all I can so I made it".  It's an amazing anthem for any up and coming athlete.

I love the vibe of The Path You Choose and once again the lyrics "'Cause the destination doesn't define you, the meaning's in the path you choose".

If you're like me and love lyrics, you can find the lyrics to the songs on the EP by clicking here.

The set ended with two songs that Rosanna co-wrote with Jon and a cover of Video by India.Arie. Maybe, Maybe and Hold Me Down really showcased Jon's amazing guitar work and looping. This second set also showed Rosanna's versatility and had a different vibe than the acoustic set did. I loved both of them and feel that the two sets complimented each other.

Like she sings in Video, Rosanna showed that she's "not your average girl" and definitely worth seeing perform live if you get the chance.

Here's Rosanna's set list (thanks for giving it to me!):