Ontario rock invade U of G’s Peter Clark Hall
“I love University shows, they’re really kind of our crowd, you know?” – Max Kerman
On Jan. 19, after an intense performance from Toronto’s The Darcys, the Arkells mounted the stage to play a spirited show for an equally lively audience in Peter Clark Hall.
Gracing the University of Guelph with the first show of their winter tour, the Arkells immediately instilled a restless crowd with an intoxicating energy. The Hamilton five-piece maintained its enthusiasm and charisma from the first song, the title-track of their second and most recent album “Michigan Left,” to the last, “John Lennon,” the infectious fourth single from their 2008 debut “Jackson Square.” The first of many highlights was “Pullin’ Punches,” another single from the Arkells’ debut record, into which the band weaved the chorus of the Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy.” The band strayed from their personal catalogue on a number of other occasions. They worked a bit of “Nighttime/Anytime (It’s Alright)” by the Constantines into the set and, just before the closer, performed a jovial cover of “You Make My Dreams” by Hall & Oates. The band further displayed its knack for clever reinventions of their own songs with “Deadlines,” which began with an extended percussion-driven intro, and culminated in a seamless transition into the nostalgic “This Little Light of Mine.”
Peter Clark Hall was given special mention when lead man Max Kerman recounted his and guitarist Mike DeAngelis’ attendance of a show featuring The Weakerthans and the Constantines six or seven years prior. The Arkells have played Guelph in a number of capacities in the past, and gave a shout out to Guelph’s Hillside festival, which takes place every summer in July.
In a fairly short period of time, the Arkells have developed into a band worthy of any music-lover’s respect. There was an especially invigorating moment during “Deadlines” that showcased the relatively young band’s experience and exceptional talent in the realm of live performance. Near the end of the song the band came to an abrupt stop that had the audience, who sang along unabated throughout most of the show, unexpectedly finish the deviously pertinent line “we’ve got deadlines to meet.”
The student crowd is well-known to the Arkells, whose fan-base is largely derived from a University demographic. Max Kerman answered a few questions after the band gave concert-goers a chance to get merchandise signed and have pictures taken in the hall outside PCH.
“I love University shows, they’re really kind of our crowd, you know? We like to play right on campus, rather than have everyone have to take the bus,” Kerman said – a comment that is oddly relevant in light of the complaints that many downtown residents seem to have about the recent changes made by Guelph Transit.
Speaking about the significance of the first show of a tour after releasing an album, Max mentioned that he liked to see how people had learnt the words and were able to sing along to the new songs.
“We really get a chance to see how people connect with the songs.”
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