Fans from across Canada and even the US excitedly made their way into The Biltmore Theatre in Oshawa, Ontario, for the first Harem Scarem live show in seven years. The excitement radiated strongly throughout the crowd as fans awaited the Canadian melodic rock masters to take the stage.
Harem Scarem
Biltmore Theatre, Oshawa, Ontario – 19 April 2025
Words And Photography: Taylor Cameron
Hailing from Toronto, a portion of the audience had grown up supporting the band since their early days of playing clubs in downtown Toronto in the late ’80s and early ’90s. However, their long-awaited return to the live stage gave the opportunity to younger fans, like myself, to experience what a Harem Scarem show is all about for the first time. 
Kicking off the set with Better The Devil You Know, a single from their upcoming release Chasing Euphoria, the band immediately gave us a taste of what the 2025 version of Harem Scarem looks like.
Although they may no longer be in their early 20s, it is undeniable that the talent within the band still comes across in droves. All original members except for bassist Mike Vassos, the chemistry and musicianship between the members has not faltered even a little.
Throwing it back to the first album, Hard To Love is up next. The crowd went wild as Pete Lesperance (guitar) played the iconic opening riff. Harry Hess’ vocals soar through the venue, still as powerful as they were when the band first formed. 
Darren Smith (drums) takes on lead vocals for the next track, Gotta Keep Your Head Up, a currently unreleased track from Chasing Euphoria (set for 25 April 2025). Not only keeping time and delivering the backbeat of the song, Smith’s vocal performance also comes across as effortless.
Drummers handling lead vocal duties is not something that is common within bands. However Smith has handled it with ease since the early days of the band. His harmonies and backing vocals always complement Hess’ leads as well. 
Stranger Than Love, Distant Memory and The Death Of Me were firm favourites of the night amongst the crowd. Everyone in the room sang along word for word. Stranger Than Love, from their sophomore album Mood Swings is a personal favourite song of mine. Hearing it live was a particular highlight of the night for me.
It was easy to forget that we were not in the year 1993 when watching the band because their live sound is still as powerful as day one, sounding almost identical to the original recordings. 
Before leaving the stage, Hess announced that Lesperance was going to play something for the crowd. “You may have heard of it; it’s called Mandy”, Hess stated before Lesperance ripped into the instrumental track from Mood Swings.
His fingers danced across the fretboard with ease as he played the melodic guitar piece, the crowd watching in awe. Although known among musicians, Lesperance falls into the underrated category of guitar players from the hard rock genre. His skills and songwriting abilities are not talked about nearly enough. His guitar licks and riffs have always complimented Hess’ vocal runs and melodies perfectly. 
Slowing things down, the band kicked into the power ballad, Honestly. The third single released from their debut self-titled album, it was accompanied by a video starring actor Judge Reinhold as the love interest. One of the band’s more popular songs, crowd participation was at an all-time high for the night. Hess held out his microphone to a sea of voices that sang his lyrics back to him. 
Slowly Slipping Away and Chasing Euphoria closed out the set, leaving the audience wanting more. The lights dim, and loud roars echoed throughout the venue, encouraging the band back to the stage for an encore.
“You knew we’d come back,” Hess laughed as the band retook their positions onstage for one last song, No Justice, the track that introduced a heavier side to the band.
From start to finish, Harem Scarem had the audience in the palm of their hands, proving that even after all these years, they still know how to kickass and put on an entertaining rock show.
A night that will be talked about for years, the Canadian rock icons have proven that they are back and better than ever.
Harem Scarem are about to take on stages across Europe, including a show at The Underworld on 28 April 2025. Seventh Crystal will be special guests.
Harem Scarem will release Chasing Euphoria on 25 April 2025 via Frontiers Music Srl. Pre-orders are available from here.
