Small town Quebec band The New Cities played through a 30-minute set in front of 4,000 fans Oct. 17 at Scotiabank Place as the opening act for the Avril Lavigne Black Star Canadian tour.
The New Cities performed songs from their newest and second album Kill the Lights, which was released at the beginning of October, as well as their single “The Hype.”
The band said they’re very happy with the response they’ve been receiving so far on the Black Star tour.
“Sometimes the people there don’t even know the words to the new songs because it’s so fresh and they’re really enjoying them,” said lead singer David Brown. “They’re jumping right away and it’s really cool because we weren’t expecting that.”
The second the band stepped foot on stage, young girls and even their parents started jumping, screaming and waving their neon green glowsticks in the air. Hit singles “Heatwave,” “Hypertronic Superstar” and “Dead End Countdown” had the crowd and the band dancing.
One thing that set The New Cities’ performance apart from other bands were Philippe Lachance and Nicolas Denis, standing atop their keyboards while playing.
Brown ran across stage, stood on top of speakers and danced all night while singing through the eight-song set.
“How are you feeling, Ottawa?” Brown screamed between songs. “Let me see you jump, Ottawa.”
The band’s performance showed confidence, but Brown said this hasn’t always been the case.
“I used to be more nervous. Now it’s good. I used to puke,” he said. “I remember for almost three months of touring, every night before hitting the stage I was feeling really good, but it was happening.”
Just as the band has become more at ease with their performances, the same goes for recording their new album, said bassist Julien Martre.
“I don’t think we felt any pressure . . . it was more excitement I guess,” he said. “There’s always a bit of pressure but it wasn’t something negative.”
