Arkells + Lord Huron @ MTELUS – 19th February 2019

If there is one band that is knocking at the door to mega-stardom it’s The Arkells.  Yes, that pun was intended, the Hamilton quintet were finishing off the Rally Cry Canadian tour which saw them headlining arenas throughout the country with Los Angeles’ Lord Huron as support. Tuesday was the last night of the tour as they rolled into Montreal to rock la belle province!

The night started with a very nice performance by Lord Huron a band I had heard a lot of good things about.  I was not disappointed, they are fantastic musicians and Ben Schneider voice is just mesmerizing.  They played a full hour going through their catalog of songs including massive hits “End of The Earth” and “The Night We Met” pleasing the crowd in attendance.  

At 9pm sharp the crowd was pumped to see The Arkells hit the stage.  This show was different from most of the shows on their Canadian tour as it was a club show at MTelus and to my surprise it wasn’t sold out when in other provinces they were selling out arenas.  Let me tell you something that didn’t faze these guys. Their energy was contagious, everyone was singing along, dancing and having the time of their lives!  Max Kerman has an infectious personality, a great story teller and one hell of a front man, for two hours he led the boys through a 22-song set full of pure magic including “Relentless”, “Leather Jacket”, “Peoples Champ”, and “Knocking at the Door.”

A spectacular show with so many standout moments including Max going into the crowd handing out sick notes for fans not to go to work the next morning, to Max pointing out some of the enthusiastic crowd members to inviting them on stage to dance along.  One really special moment was when they did their dial in a deep cut segment when Lorenzo called in requesting Bloodlines be played which the band hadn’t played in over 5 years.  Amazing song and a very touching moment when Lorenzo the caller, was spotted by Max and ended up performing the song with the band. Pretty epic stuff and a moment that he will never forget!

I can’t say enough good things about this band, such a joy to watch, as promised at the beginning of the show it was “Saturday Night” everyone was having a party! This band is just gaining in popularity and rightfully so! It’s time to hop on this train Montreal!

Review – Eric Brisson
Photos – Steve Gerrard

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