It was the last night of the current leg of this Arkells tour, and their second of two sold out shows at the legendary Commodore Ballroom. That mix created an electric atmosphere that buzzed through the crowd through all three bands on stage, and even infected the crowd as the night went on.
I got to the venue just as Modern Space was starting their set. The five-piece Toronto band had a pretty straightforward rock sound, and they were definitely amped up, but the sound wasn't that great. The lead singer was hard to hear at times, drowned out by loud guitars.
Their set included a pretty decent cover of Beck's "Loser", and they got a big cheer for their current single, "Pen to Paper". They were a perfectly fine opening band with revved up rock music to start the night.
Shortly after, the lights dimmed and "I'm Afraid of Americans" filled the speakers, perhaps fitting for the only band on the bill from south of the 49th. The Brooklyn trio Dreamers
had a very New-York-indie-rock sound, with infectious harmonies and fun, upbeat songs. They highlighted songs off their debut EP, You Are Here; "Never Too Late To Dance" burst forth with energy, and their single "Drugs" had a chorus that won't soon leave your brainspace.
They closed the set with "Wolves (You Got Me)", another ridiculously catchy garage-pop-rock tune. They were a really fun band to watch live, and I am looking forward to checking out more from them.
As a side note, I am not sure who was in charge of the between-set music, but it was pretty stellar, especially as a lead up to when Arkells hit the stage.
They came out swinging with "Fake Money", the first track of the latest album High Noon, and hardly slowed down for their two hour(!) set. Which was even more impressive when you realised frontman Max Kerman was sick (he didn't mention that on stage, though). But even under the weather, that didn't slow him down as he laid it all out there, really letting loose, singing 'til his throat was raw. He even made a pact with the crowd that none of us would have voices the next morning. In fact, it was one of his three keys to a successful show:
- Shake your ass on the dance floor,
- Sing until your voice is gone, and
- The "Secret Sauce", which I am obliged not to divulge here.
The entire band had a great energy, but especially Max who was bounding around the stage, into the crowd on a few occasions, and even teasing his bandmates; at one point during "Pulling Punches" he told a story of last night's karaoke, and not believing keyboard player Anthony Carone could lay down some Elton John on the spot. So he quizzed him with three snippets -- from Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, and Benny & The Jets -- which Carone naturally nailed, before letting loose with his own solo.
In the two hours of the show, they hit songs from all over their discography, from the big hits like the slow burning "Never Thought That This Would Happen" and the raucous "Whistleblower"; to the deep cuts like "Agent Zero", one of their slower, more haunting songs.
And, of course, some personal favourites, "On Paper" and "John Lennon", which is a lot of people's favourite, judging by the amount of people singing along.
They also, as they often do, slipped some covers into their songs. "Champagne Socialist" was dedicated to "Uncle Neil" with bits of "Ohio" bookending the song. During "Michigan Left", while in the midst of the crows, Max broke in to "Take Me To The River", and "What Are You Holding On To " included the famous intro to "Rock and Roll pt II"
On at least three or four occasions, they played giant showstoppers; but kept going, much to the delight of the crowd, before finally wrapping up the main set with "Cynical Bastards".
From there they rushed to the "cheap seats" (by which I mean the back of the dace floor) for an acoustic "Kiss Cam" in the sound booth, before running back on stage to meet their "Deadlines", and sneaking in a little bit of "This Little Light of Mine", getting the house lights down and everyone to pull out their lighters and/or phones.
At that point they praised some Vancouver bands they played with and pulled out a cover of a Dan Mangan + Blacksmith song, only to be joined by the man himself, with Max playing Dave Grohl to Dan in his backing vocals on "Vessel". It was a really cool moment that was only topped when they kept Dan on stage and brought out both opening bands for an incredibly fun cover of Bowie's "Modern Love". Even that could have been the end and left people satisfied, but Arkells had plenty left in the tank with "Dirty Blonde" and finally the biggest singalong of the night, their biggest hit by far, "Leather Jacket" with the entire sold out Commodore yelling at the top of their collective lungs, fulfilling the promise to Max that none in attendance would have a voice tomorrow.
setlist
Fake Money; Come to Light;
Where U Going;
The Ballad of Hugo Chavez;
Pulling Punches (w/ Elton John medley);
Crawling Through The Window;
Book Club;
11:11;
Agent Zero;
Oh, The Boss is Coming;
Champagne Socialist (w/ "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young);
Whistleblower;
John Lennon;
What Are You Holding On To (w/ "Rock & Roll pt II" by Gary Glitter);
Michigan Left (w/ "Take Me To The River" by Al Green);
Never Thought That This Would Happen;
On Paper;
Cynical Bastards.
(encore)
Kiss Cam (acoustic);
Deadlines (w/ "This Little Light of Mine");
Vessel [Dan Mangan cover];
Modern Love [David Bowie cover];
Dirty Blonde;
Leather Jacket.
