Place Bell was filling up early for the triple bill, a lineup already forming at 5 o’clock. There was a pretty good mix of both headliners represented in the black tees in the crowd, although Three Days Grace had the advantage in their home country.
Wage War was first up. Their live show reminds me of that period in nu-metal when bands were trying to throw electronica into the mix. They delivered a high-energy set that had people dancing and banging their heads from the get-go. It was short and sweet, like a storm that passes over quickly.
Three Days Grace were the first of the co-headliners to hit the stage, swinging the heavy lumber out of the gates with “Animal I Have Become.” If you know the story of the band’s history with vocalist Adam Gontier, it’s inspiring to see him walk on stage and harmonize with now co-vocalist Matt Walst. Like maybe there is hope for peace in this world… I mean, it’s a small maybe, but it’s there.
They followed straight into the Walst era for “So Called Life.” Gontier proceeded to address the split and thanked his band for continuing on, and Walst for carrying the torch forward: “None of us would be here tonight if they hadn’t kept climbing the mountain.” The crowd responded with a loud “Three Days Grace” chant while a blazing riff led into “The Mountain.”
“Apologies” was the first song of the new era where both vocalists are featured. Both stood in front of the stage screaming into the crowd. There was a genuine sense of complicity between the two—you can tell they’re actually enjoying the new dynamic.
If someone was holding a decibel meter during “I Hate Everything About You,” well, that thing is now completely busted.
The band left Gontier alone on stage for a solo rendition of Alice In Chains’ “Rooster.” A soulful version that had cell phone fireflies ablaze. Shout out to the few who kept it old school with Zippos!
The set ended with “Riot,” which started without Walst, who suddenly appeared in section 115 for the second verse. Whoever had a voice left was screaming “let’s start a riot.” The two-singer format gave the band a whole new dimension, and Walst held his own with Gontier, who is a monster live performer.
Denmark’s Volbeat were the final act, taking their signature blend of rockabilly and metal to the stage. They started strong with “Warrior’s Call” and “Lola Montez.”
Frontman Michael Poulsen stood stage centre with a commanding power-metal stance that would make James Hetfield blush. Father Time may be undefeated, but Poulsen appears to be giving him one hell of a fight—he hasn’t slowed down a millisecond over the decades.
The crowd really jumped in for “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown,” whose radio rock riff had everyone dancing. They followed that up with a verse of the Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire,” with heavy crowd participation, which led into “Folsom Prison Blues” turned up to 11, and into “Sad Man’s Tongue.” The medley ended with a flurry of Metallica riffs.
The middle of their set was filled with their heavier tunes like “Demonic Depression” and “Shotgun Blues.” The band’s death metal roots really shone through in this section.
The latest single, “In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom,” was a set highlight—a song that had garnered press for its lavish title as much as its groovy rhythm. Poulsen had the crowd say the name piece by piece and introduced them to the goat on the backdrop, named Thor. He told the crowd this is just all fun theatre and Volbeat doesn’t support Satanism or any other religion. He said, “If you want real evil, just turn on the news.”
They then embarrassingly continued the set with songs whose titles only had two words. Despite the short titles, the rock was long. The set ended with their biggest radio hit, “Still Counting,” which sent the crowd home happy.
Volbeat put on a great show, but it ultimately suffered from going on after Three Days Grace, who drained the Canadian crowd. While both bands got equal time, the headliners should’ve switched slots. The crowd was visibly thinning out halfway through Volbeat’s set. This was not a reflection of the band’s performance—just a home-field advantage for Three Days Grace. We’ve seen this on other shows with alternating headliners, like the Live, Bush, Our Lady Peace tour, where Our Lady Peace closed out every show of the Canadian leg. Whether you were there for the whole show or not, this night left your rock metre on full and your devil horns up.
Review – Richard Brunette
Photos – Eric Brisson
