PHOTOS: Arkells @ Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre - July 1, 2022
Arkells
Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre
July 1, 2022
Christine McAvoy Photography
Arkells
Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre
July 1, 2022
Christine McAvoy Photography
A couple years ago (almost exactly two years ago, in fact), I talked about witnessing the journey Arkells have taken from venues like the Biltmore, all the way up to arena shows, when they played Doug Mitchell. And now this weekend they were back for another headlining arena show, this time at the Pacific Coliseum.
The Hamilton band burst onto the stage with "Relentless", an appropriate title for the entire band's energy (and work ethic) but especially singer Max Kerman, who started at a 10 and somehow barely slowed down throughout the night. And the crowd reciprocated, as "Leather Jacket" had the majority of the building singing along while Max sang on the edge of the catwalk that stretched out into the sea of people. In fact, over the course of the show every single member of the band (plus the Northern Soul Horn Section) would strut out to the tip of the stage at one point or another, for a showcase solo -- keyboardist Anthony Carone even broke out the keytar to the band's chagrin -- or the stripped down, full band performance of "Kiss Cam" as they huddled together.
Their two hour set focused on the new Rally Cry, but also hit every album, going back to their origins with "Champagne Socialist" seguing into "The Boss Is Coming" and back again, and even deep cuts requested by fans on a hotline they set up. They listened to a recorded message from an audience member (Max on the prop payphone they had onstage) before going into the rarely-played "Agent Zero".
Other highlights included huge singalongs to powerhouse hits like "11:11" and "Knocking At The Door", the darker "Come To Light", and my favourite off the new album, the Motown-infused "Eyes on the Prize". During which Max disappeared off the stage only to reappear among the crowd in the lower bowl, checking in on people around him, making sure they had the day off work tomorrow (and handing out sick notes if they didn't) before making his way back through the crowd and to the stage.
The 'main' set wrapped up with "Hand Me Downs" and bursts of confetti, leaving the crowd to sing the "ohh-oo-oohs" for an impressively long time after they left the stage (especially for a crowd that large) before they returned for a couple more.
One of my favourite things about seeing Arkells perform is what kind of covers they break out through the set and they absolutely didn't disappoint with the first song of the encore, "Dancing Queen", before capping off the night with the promise "My Heart's Always Yours".
I'm not gonna lie, I absolutely miss being able to see Arkells in smaller venues, even a Commodore-sized room. But watching them onstage at the Coliseum, it was undeniable that they belong there, and put on an as incredible a show as they always have.
Check out more of Christine’s snaps here!
setlist
Relentless
Leather Jacket
Michigan Left
Never Thought That This Would Happen
Show Me Don't Tell Me
Champagne Socialist / Oh, The Boss Is Coming!
Eyes on the Prize
American Screams
People's Champ
Kiss Cam
Only For A Moment
Come To Light
And Then Some
Agent Zero
11:11
Saturday Night
Whistleblower
Knocking At The Door
Private School
Hand Me Downs
(encore)
Dancing Queen [ABBA cover]
My Heart's Always Yours
Arkells
Pacific Coliseum
February 2, 2019
Christine McAvoy Photography
This weekend marked the inaugural Skookum Festival, taking place right in the middle of Stanley Park, with three days full of music, a great selection of bands from local to international. Something like 50,000 people were reported to have crossed through the gates to see dozens of bands play over the three days.
Click through for a recap of the entire three days, featuring The Killers, Arkells, Metric, Matt Mays, St. Vincent, Whitehorse, Dear Rouge, Mother Mother, Bahamas, Said the Whale, The Zolas, Hey Ocean!, The Matinée, Shred Kelly, Little Destroyer, AND MORE! (whew)
Read MoreI (Christine) have just recently returned from a trip to Ontario, where I got to check out a few awesome shows in Toronto while I roamed about the city.
The first show was the eastern performance by The Smugglers, with guests The New Enchanters, NEEDLES//PINS, and Duotang at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern.
The following weekend, I was invited to attend the Taylor Knox performance at the Drake Underground. It's always excellent to see a band you've never heard of before and enjoy it immensely. Check him out HERE.
And finally, from small club to the BIG BIG stage, I went to the Budweiser Stage (formerly Molson Amphitheatre) for the Arkells show, with guests July Talk (as well as Said The Whale, whom I missed photographing because of traffic, but got to catch 2/3 of their set!). The show was epic, and as you can see from the photos above, the crowd was packed in. Both bands are always a pleasure to photograph, and debating which to post is difficult.
Next trip to Ontario is in September, and I should be around for the Polaris Music Prize gala.
Thanks Toronto!
All photos by Christine McAvoy