Arena Rock: Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, more
Billy Talent.
Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Against Me!, Cancer Bats
Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, March 3
It’s easy to tell who’s playing a concert by the fans lined up outside the venue. For Billy Talent, it was plain to see who would be rocking Save-on-Foods that night. Is it wrong to say that I felt out of place for not wearing a pair of skinny jeans, or with my bangs not concealing a large portion of my face?
Cancer Bats opened with a bang; starting things off with their song “Hail Destroyer”—a perfect way to describe their simplistic yet brutal style. The crowd followed along with every scream that came from lead singer Liam Cormier’s vocal chords. The highlight of their set was when Cormier urged the audience to start “the biggest fucking circle pit I’ve ever seen.” To which, of course, we Victorians obliged. The Cancer Bats’ performance was an amazing start and got everyone pumped up for the other acts.
Against Me! were next to take the stage, and their take on punk rock was reminiscent of early material from the Offspring. I wasn’t very impressed—their music just didn’t engage me in any way—so I took a break.
I returned just as Alexisonfire took the stage and performed “Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints” off of 2006’s Crisis. It was a good start, but as the set went on I began to feel that the band I fell in love with back in 2002 wasn’t as hardcore as they used to be. The softer influences of guitarist Dallas Green’s side-project, City and Color, have begun to take hold of the band. Alexisonfire wasn’t bad, but it could have been better.
Finally the headliners—Billy Talent—took the stage, and broke out in a burst of energy with their song “Devil in a Midnight Mass.” It was a nice change and lifted my spirits after the last two bands had dampened them. Each song and note of their set brought more and more energy into the crowd.
Billy Talent finished off the show with a three-song encore with the finale being their hit, “Red Flag,” which threw the crowd into a frenzy. I found myself chanting along with the song’s catchy beat.
I only enjoyed two out of the four bands at this show. But the diehard fans that attended seemed to enjoy each and every minute, which is all that really matters.
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