Canada’s flagship post-hardcore act, ALEXISONFIRE are now much-loved across the country (and indeed the world), so when this show at MTelus was announced, tickets were quickly snapped up, allowing them to add an additional show at one of Montreal’s most iconic venues.
Fellow Toronto-based punks METZ had the honour of opening the night with a set full of highlights from their 14-year career. Sadly they were affected by one the worst sound I’ve heard in MTelus in a very long time, sounding like they were playing a sports hall next door. This definitely took away a lot of the band’s musical punch. I saw them headline Fairmount not long ago and was blown away, so it was disappointing to see them not showing their full potential to a larger crowd. Not the band’s fault though, I guess.
With a career marked by various hiatuses, tonight is the first chance many in attendance have to see Alexisonfire, and the sold-out crowd buzzes before the band even take the stage.
It doesn’t take long before said crowd erupts into a sea of flailing limbs and pockets of circle pits. This band has meant so much to so many, almost since their inception, and it’s a feeling reciprocated. The joy on the band’s faces as they tear through early tracks such as Boiled Frogs and Old Crows is evident.
To add to the celebration, bassist Chris Steele is celebrating his 38th birthday this very evening. Dallas Green conducts the crowd in a chorus of Happy Birthday as Wade MacNeil brings out the cake.
There’s no song that didn’t make the crowd completely go crazy, and at times it seemed like George Pettit is working hard not to be outdone by a room of fans that knows every lyric just as well as he does — though he did let the crowd sing a cappella for parts of encore track “This Could Be Anywhere in the World,” a particular highlight of the evening.
Alexisonfire may not be the kids they used to be; as the crowd chanted along with them during Old Crows, they’ve aged gracefully, but in the 20 years since releasing their debut album, they’ve built a solid reputation as one of Canada’s greatest rock bands. Tonight felt like an affirmation of all they’ve achieved.
Setlist
Committed to the Con
Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints
Boiled Frogs
Old Crows
Sans Soleil
Pulmonary Archery
We Are the Sound
Rough Hands
Sweet Dreams of Otherness
Accept Crime
.44 Caliber Love Letter
Accidents
The Northern
Dog’s Blood
Young Cardinals
This Could Be Anywhere in the World
Happiness by the Kilowatt [With Prince’s “When Doves Cry”]
Review – Steve Gerrard
Photos – Ryley Remedios
