Lithium Magazine

By Corrie Fildey
Photos by Sara Collaton

www.simpleplan.com
www.thesekidswearcrowns.com
http://www.myspace.com/thesekidswearcrownswww.alltimelowband.com
www.marianastrench.net

Half way through the “Get Your Heart On” Canadian Tour, the boys in Simple Plan planted themselves at the Air Canada Center on February 19th for a jam packed set which included fellow Canadian acts; These Kids Wear Crowns and Marianas Trench, and from Baltimore, Maryland, All Time Low.

The show kicked off with These Kids Wear Crowns playing a tribute to Whitney Houston’s number “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” which got anyone who was already in the building up on their feet and pumped up for the night. Other songs played were “Party Never Stops”, “Skeletons”, “Break It Up” and “Jumpstart”. Aside from a few technical difficulties, the band’s catchy synth-pop tunes kept everyone interested and although their set was cut short, they definitely left a mark at the ACC and gained some new followers.

Next up was the only American group on tour; All Time Low. Now, its one thing to enjoy their pop punk sound, but seeing ATL live is not only getting a chance to experience their music live, you’re also getting a straight-up comedy performance. The boys in the band know how to engage the crowd, and when they weren’t cracking jokes they were either humping the air or jumping into the crowd. At one point lead guitarist Jack Barakat disappeared off stage, only to reappear in the bleachers, standing not more than a foot away from me, while fans took picture. Performances like those are what keep their fans attached. They opened their set with “Time Bomb” and followed with “Forget About It”, crowd favourite “Damned Of Ya Do, Damned If Ya Don’t”, “Lost in Stereo” and one of my personal favourites, “Weightless”. I would hazard a guess that any show goer that wasn’t a fan of ALT before the show, is more than likely now…. except perhaps for parents who brought their young’uns, as they don’t put on the most PG gig.

To my surprise, one of the most anticipated performances of the night took the stage next; Marians Trench. Excitement was building as the lights dimmed and front man Josh Ramsay revealed himself jumping out of a jack-in-the-box and launched right into their first song “Ever After”. It appeared as though the crowd was almost in a trance listening to him sing, as his voice is rather remarkable and to my ear, was the best of the night. Then again, maybe everyone was just distracted by his glittery red spandex pants.

The audience screamed as the band’s banner dropped, and Ramsay welcomed the crowd to Toyland. The rest of the set list included a lot of dance numbers to keep the audience pumped up for Simple Plan; a few songs included were “All to Myself”, Celebrity Status”, “Fallout”, “Cross My Heart” and they closed the show with “Porcelain”. Ramsay switched from playing guitar to running around the stage and dancing, and even got into the pit where he was chased by female fan. He later apologized to everyone who got a glimpse of a little more than they had expected with those pants, but hey, if ya got it, flaunt it, right? Overall, they succeeded in setting a high standard for the night. The band did not disappoint, and without a doubt put on the best performance.

Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for…. But before the band even stepped onto stage they played a personal video on the backdrop in order to get fans amped up. Simple Plan opened up their show with “Shut Up!” which got everyone up on their feet as though it was the first song of the night. The band decided to go old school and played a few songs from their very first debut album, “No Pads, No Helmet… Just Balls”, which was released in 2002, yet even the little ones in the crowd knew the lyrics to “Addicted” and “I’m just a Kid”.

Even though the band lacked stage theatrics, they brought in some props to set the mood. During “Summers Paradise” about 20 beach balls dropped from the ceiling and when they performed “Astronaut” the lights turned off and the entire building darkened. Front man Pierre Bouvier told every one that had a glow stick, cell phone, or lighter, to light it up, and the ACC suddenly turned into outer space.

Just when the crowd thought they were done with the surprises, Simple Plan busted out a covers melody which got even me dancing to a mix of Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5/ Dynamite by Taio Cruz / Sexy and I know it by LMFAO. And if that wasn’t enough, two body suited gentlemen got on stage to shake their booty with the rest of us.

The band had their own camera so that whatever they shot was showing up on the back screen, and seeing themselves on screen made the attending kids go wild. They even brought out fellow Canadian Fefe Dobson to do guest vocals on their first single from the new album “Jet Lag”

Simple Plan kept their performance strong and passionate throughout their entire set, encouraging their fans to get involved the whole time which is probably why they have been a staple in the Canadian music world for a decade now. The band left the stage satisfied and after much convincing came back for an encore with “Loser of the Year” and “I’m just a Kid”. They even came back for a second encore, finalizing their set with “Perfect” which left fans stupefied. Overall, it would seem the crowd left the ACC quite pleased, as it was a very interactive performance.