It was love at first power chord for the boys in Sum 41 and their rabid fans on this Wednesday night. Front man Deryck Whibley addressed the admiring throng as if trying to stir them into a froth. “Come on motherf—ers” was the battle cry. And they did come on. To every song.
Although fully popular enough to headline the show, this hard driving quartet is touring this time in support of Billy Talent. Long time friends, the two bands had long been looking for the opportunity to tour together and finally made it happen. Now that is bang for your buck!
Sum 41 Whibley guitar and vocals, Tom Thaker, guitar, Jason McCaslin bass and Steve Jocz drums, muscled their way through a brain bubbling set that had the mosh pit operating at full tilt. At one point, Whibley handpicked several audience members to watch the show from stage side, inviting them to see the show from the band’s perspective. The thrilled few made their way up while Jocz kept solid time. There they remained for the rest of the show.
Stampede Corral Centre, Calagary – March 20th, 2013
Photography by: Charles Hope
These guys are tight. I was blown away by the heavy syncopation between bass and drums and the clever guitar interplay. Whibley delivered his impassioned vocals as if this might be his last time on stage. One might expect this veteran band to be showing signs of tiring. In fact they give every indication that they are still hungry to make it. You have to be good to be this loud and they were loud enough to strip the paint off the ceiling of the Corral center. In fact, I was worried at one point that my moustache was going to fall off. They were real, real good.
I admit to having known little about Sum 41 before this night (other than that they are from Ajax and that they have an international following), so I haven’t tried to fill you up with a bunch of facts you can research reliably elsewhere. What I will tell you reliably, is that these harbingers of punk/pop/metal (they’ve been described as many things) kick some serious butt.
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