I have written a slew of posts on ARKELLS (you can search them out on the right hand side of this page). I have seen the band many, many times, yet, I had no doubt that hitting one of their two sold-out shows at Lee’s Palace this past weekend would be a good idea. A sold-out show at a small club is always a good place to be! The band was on their way to wrapping up a headlining cross-Canada tour and they were sure to be keyed up to knock down the Toronto crowd. What they weren’t prepared for, was the immense enthusiasm heaped upon them by that same crowd.
After a little Motown before the show (the band has an unabashed devotion to Motown), the band hit the stage to a wealth of applause. The following hour-plus would cover off the entire tracklisting of the band’s phenomenal debut record — ‘Jackson Square’ — as well as a few other gems. We got a preview of two new Arkells songs and a couple cover tunes to polish off the evening.
What was obvious throughout the show was the amount of fun the band was having, as well as the level of astonishment they had for the crowd’s reaction to their efforts. Crowd clap-along/sing-alongs were generously offered when requested. Added to this, the very same elements of crowd-participation were offered up quite spontaneously, without request from the band. The crowd was fully into the show. There were numerous moments where lead-man Max Kerman seemed to realize that the band has achieved a new level of stature; after all, when you have a throbbing crowd shouting back all the words of your songs, how can you NOT come to this understanding!?
It was obvious that the band was feeding off of the crowd, and were having a blast up on stage — which only brought their performance up to another level. At one point, Mike DeAngelis and Max Kerman stood toe-to-toe and dually delivered the mellow opening notes to “I’m Not The Sun.” Kerman, lost in the moment, continued to lean over until the two 6-string pugilists were propped up against each others’ foreheads. It was this kind of spotaneity that truly made the show a special one. If all of these factors weren’t enough, Keyboardist Dan Griffin often came out from behind his perch to rile the crowd up even more, and the energy continued to rise.
The band departed the stage after a good round of rocking out, but it was a foregone conclusion that they would be returning for an encore. Our man Serge @ Dine Alone Records came out on stage to tune up the guitars once again and we were certain of the band’s re-appearance. Rousing renditions of “The Choir” and “Blueprint” were rendered before the final set-closers: The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” and an amped-up version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark.” I’m not usually a fan of a band closing out their set with another band’s song, but this was different; this was so far out of left-field and so much fun that the rules did not apply. The opening bands were called up on stage to help the headliners perform the famous tune by “The Boss” and it turned the show into a party. It was Arkells’ party.
The band will conclude their tour in the coming week and will undoubtedly continue to write new material, building on this success. In the meantime, do yourself a favour and pick up ‘Jackson Square’ and take a look at the band’s most recent video. Hopefully it doesn’t have to reference the movie ‘Twilight’ to get your attention 
Setlist:
“Heart Of The City”
“Ballad Of Hugo Chavez”
“Tragic Flaw”
“Coffee” (new tune)
“Pullin’ Punches”
“No Champagne Socialist”
“Oh, The Boss Is Coming!”
“Where Are You Going?” (new tune)
“Abigail”
“Deadlines”
“John Lennon” (w/ “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles spliced in)
Encore
“The Choir”
“Blueprint”
“Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” (Temptations)
“Dancing In The Dark” (Bruce Springsteen)
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