One week after Bluesfest opened, crowds were still eagerly streaming in, tickets in hand, to beat the rush of people coming to witness some of the biggest names in Ontario’s rock scene.
At the beginning of the night, the fields at LeBreton Flats were only spotted with the keenest of festivalgoers and the odd volunteer grabbing a quick bite before the mad rush of people. However, this would prove to be the only calm of the night before headliners Sum 41 and Alexisonfire stormed the main stage.
First to take to the main stage was Swedish pop punk band Millencolin, who gave the audience a glimpse at the musical speed and ferocity that would only intensify in the following acts.
Millencolin’s upbeat, drum-heavy, power-chord-riddled pop punk songs reverberated through a crowd of tattoos, earloops, beards, bangs and band T-shirts. The first few of many horn hand signs were shown as the band performed hits like “No Cigar” and “Penguins & Polarbears.”
As the opener finished, the crowd doubled, and many shirts proudly displaying devotion to the next band, Sum 41, appeared in the audience. A prop of a giant skeleton holding four fingers on one hand and the middle finger on the other gave non-devotees a hint of the next band’s energy.
The finest of pop-punkers from Ajax, Ont., Sum 41, stormed the stage next, breaking into songs heavy with lyrics about social alienation. Between songs, lead singer Deryck Whibley encouraged the “Sum 41 family” to get crazy as the band dove back into their repertoire.
It took the first two notes of “In Too Deep” for the crowd to scream and scramble for their phones to record the band’s most popular song. The band received a similar reaction when they performed the more melodic “Pieces” and “Fat Lip,” which brought back the speed and punk that reigned over the band’s performance.
The speedy and intense stage performance of Sum 41 came to a close as Alexisonfire, a post-hardcore band from St. Catharines, Ont., took the stage with only headbangs to pair with their performance of metal-esque songs.
Many of the songs featured in Alexisonfire’s performance were from the band’s latest album, Otherness. George Pettit, one of two vocalists for the band, energized the crowd with his screaming of song lyrics bringing a darker atmosphere for the mainstage audience.
Red and purple lights bathed the band and illuminated intense headbanging as the band performed songs such as “Sans Soleil” and “Sweet Dreams of Otherness.” Despite the heavy metal influence of the band, there were brief sludgy but melodic moments throughout the set.
After leaving the stage, it didn’t take much prompting from the crowd for the band to come back and give the audience an encore that brought the festival attendees to the end of yet another night of Bluesfest.
Featured image by Sean Sisk.
