Simple Plan Brings Pop-Punk Nostalgia to the F1 Crowd
The first night of the F1 concert series in Montreal brought together two very different Canadian acts: Matt Lang and Simple Plan. It was a strong double bill, mixing country-rock energy with the kind of pop-punk nostalgia that Simple Plan has been carrying for more than two decades. But before the music even started, the night came with a bit of F1 chaos.
Getting to the concert area was not exactly smooth. Concertgoers were trying to make their way in while thousands of F1 fans were heading out in the opposite direction, which made the entrance feel messy from the start. Everyone had to move through barriers and barricades in a long winding path before finally reaching the site. By the time we arrived, about 30 minutes before Matt Lang’s set, the area still felt surprisingly quiet. The walk to the stage was also long, a couple of kilometres, which probably did not help the turnout.
Matt Lang opened the evening with an upbeat, crowd-friendly performance that worked well in the outdoor setting. Fred Dionne joined him as a guest, adding a nice local touch to the set. Lang also included some big, familiar covers, including “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” “We Will Rock You,” and “T.N.T.” Those songs made sense for the crowd. Not everyone there seemed to be a diehard Matt Lang fan, but the covers gave people something easy to connect with.
By the time Simple Plan came on, the crowd had filled in more, but the show still felt surprisingly intimate for a band with their international reach. That likely had more to do with the event setup than the band itself. After a full day at the Grand Prix, difficult site access and tickets priced around $300, this was not the easiest concert for regular fans to attend.
The audience also felt different from a typical Simple Plan show. There were F1 caps everywhere, and many people seemed to be seeing the band for the first time. At the same time, there was a small group of hardcore fans near the front, maybe 10 to 15 people, who clearly knew every song and brought the usual Simple Plan energy.
Simple Plan delivered a tight festival-style set built around their biggest songs, with strong energy from start to finish. They also interacted with the crowd in French, which added a local touch and reminded everyone that this is still a Montreal band at heart.
At the start of their set, they included Nothing Changes, the new song connected to their Prime Video documentary Simple Plan: The Kids in the Crowd. It was an interesting choice to open with a newer, less familiar track, especially in front of a crowd where many people seemed to be discovering the band live for the first time. Still, it gave the performance a current touch before they moved into the bigger nostalgic hits.
Overall, it was a strange but memorable F1 concert night: a long walk, a messy entrance, a mixed crowd, and a Canadian band proving that, even in an unusual setting, their songs still land.
Review & photos – Maelle Ramsay
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