Friday night at the Canadian Tire Centre was a perfect end to the work week as Arkells brought their Big Feelings Tour to town, along with opening act Poolside.
Formed in Los Angeles, “daytime disco”/chillwave band Poolside, opened the show for the early crowd, with a set of fun, chill tunes like their unique version of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” that had the crowd bouncing and swaying along. They also included a funky cover of “Shakedown Street” in tribute to the death of The Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh yesterday.
I’ve had a few Arkells tunes on my Spotify playlists for a few years, but catching their live show had eluded me until last night. The Juno-nominated/winning band from Hamilton has always been lauded for a dynamic and interactive live show, so I was eager to see if it lived up to the hype.
And it most certainly did. Arkells created a total party at the Canadian Tire Centre, backed by a touring horn section that boosted the band member count to nine, which just meant more people at the party. As well, I was presented with a unique opportunity to continue shooting the show from the crowd after the standard first three songs from the photo pit, which helped me really get a sense of why people love this band so much. They facilitated so much joy and happiness among their fans, including a young boy on his dad’s shoulders with a homemade shirt that said “11th Show” — clearly I have some catching up to do.
Their set was so fun that I barely noticed how quickly the two hours passed as they played through twenty songs that included the familiar hits like “11:11,” “You Can Get It” and “Come to Light.”
There was a lighter, pared-down acoustic section mid-set, as well their well-known telephone request line which saw vocalist Max Kerman and guitarist Mike DeAngelis making their way to an old school payphone in the middle of the crowd to take a pre-recorded request for “Life Is,” which they performed surrounded by the crowd in a truly memorable moment.
Another great moment was when the band brought out students from Ottawa’s Churchill Alternative School’s School of Rock program to join the band onstage to perform their final song of the set, “Knocking At The Door.” The band had heard that the students had done a cover of the song, so they arranged to have them at the show last night, and the experience is something that those students will surely never forget, and will push them forward with their love and pursuit of music.
Not ready to send everyone home just yet, the band returned to the stage for a three song encore, the highlight of which was a fantastic cover of The Tragically Hip’s “Grace, Too.” Kerman took a few moments during the intro of the song to implore the audience to support public schools and education — “We need to support our public schools!” As a teacher myself, I appreciated this sentiment and support. They then closed out the show with “My Heart’s Always Yours,” and fan favourite, “Leather Jacket.”
In a time of tighter wallets and feeling like you’re getting less for your money, I now know that you can’t go wrong with an Arkells show. Two hours of feel-good songs and positivity in what felt like a big house party among friends was just what everyone needed last night.
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