Max and the adoring Halifax crowd

There are plenty of acts in the Canadian music scene, but not many venture further east than Montreal. Many in the Maritimes have a gripe that bands seem to forget about the four provinces on the East Coast.   Make whatever argument you may like: distance, cost, population, and then there are those acts that finally make the trek East, play a successful run of shows and make the largely empty promise to return.    All of that to say, for all those bands that tend to miss out on these receptive rooms, some have been coming here since the early days, and continue to do so.   Two of the biggest Canadian Bands in Blue Rodeo and The Tragically Hip have regularly played on our stages. Hamilton Ontario’s Arkells have made it part of their mandate to include the East Coast of Canada on their tours, and we have never forgotten it.

Joel Plaskett

Not only do Arkells make it a point to head East, but the band chose Halifax as the opening night of their current Big Feelings Canadian Tour.   There is an apparent love affair between Arkells and Halifax, as the band rolled into town a couple days ahead of their show and continued to display their exceptional use of social media, by inviting their fans to find 4 hidden ticket caches around town.  On the Halifax and Moncton nights of the tour, the band recruited one of their personal favourites  Joel Plaskett to open the shows alongside Emergency bandmates Chris Pennell and Dave Marsh, and during the opening set, Max could be spotted in the shadows gleefully watching the local legend play his infectious pop-infused rock tunes.

Arkells Payphone

If you arrived at the venue early, you might have had the opportunity to snap a selfie with Max who instead of relaxing backstage away from the fans, was hanging around an inconspicuous payphone stationed on the arena floor.   It was another demonstration that Max and the band have honestly and organically grown the fan base to become a legitimate “People’s Champ”, a title long held by The Tragically Hip.   As people flooded through the doors, it wasn’t hard to see that this fandom knows no boundaries as it was a great mix of folks of all genders, ages, and ethnicities, here to engage in an entertaining night of rock n’ roll.

For a band that has played here a ton, Max, Tony, Mike, Nick, Tim and the growing touring troupe treated the packed Halifax Metro Centre (now Scotiabank Centre) to a setlist curated to near perfection.   The set drew from the band’s entire discography with Blink Once, Blink Twice, High Noon, Morning Report and Rally Cry all contributing a trio of songs, while both Jackson Square (the band’s debut) and sophomore release Michigan, Left both offering a pair of songs.    Gone was the catwalk the band had used over the past pair of visits, but the perpetual motion machine Max Kerman used the bump-out to get up close and personal with the adoring fans.

Max in the Crowd

Over the past day and a half, the band had invited fans to call a request line and to make their case as to why the band should play the request at the show.  About halfway through the show, Mike and Max slipped away and trekked through the crowd, making their way to that payphone (which had started to ring).  When Max picked up the receiver, the request for “Nobody Gets Me Like You Do” played, and then Max and Mike performed the song surrounded by fans on the arena floor.  It’s a gimmick that the band has long employed and continues to be a highlight of the Arkells live show.

All in all, the band performed a loaded set of 24 of their biggest and best songs, and while many in attendance were probably hoping for more of the deeper cuts, it didn’t matter as the show was pretty well flawless and with the Arkells Horn section, it takes those well-known cuts such as “Whistleblower” and elevates them even further.     It was a perfect way to kick off the tour, and Max and the crew had folks up on their feet dancing and singing their hearts out all evening.   Until the next time fellas!

Arkells

The Joel Plaskett Emergency