“Welcome to the family, we’re now best friends forever,” declared Simple Plan frontman Pierre Bouvier to the crowd of almost 800 at the Algonquin Commons theatre on Sept. 20.
The pop-punk concert was a part of the 15th anniversary tour of the Montreal native band’s album No Pads, No Helmets, Just Balls. The band played the whole album, which included I’m Just a Kid, Perfect, Meet you there and My Alien among others.
But perhaps the most memorable part of the concert was when Bouvier’s mic cut out after a loud whistle and the audience finished singing the song.
“Everyone was so into it and especially when the mic went off,” said Dominique Alarie, a police foundations graduate. “Everybody was so engaged because everybody knew the song.”
The small venue allowed for the concert to be a very informal and friendly event for both the crowd and the performers.
“It was very intimate but you still got the whole rock show,” said Thomas Knapp, a second year mechanical engineering student. “And I think it was absolutely amazing when the mic went out and the crowd just kept singing.”
Charlie Arsenault, a scriptwriting grad said it was by far the best show he has seen at Algonquin. “And I’ve been to quite a few,” he added.
“As cliché as it sounds, for 90 minutes tonight I was a kid again,” said Arsenault. “I wasn’t stressed about work or anything else in the real world.”
Two bands opened the show. The first were Selfish Things, a band from Vancouver with four members: Alex Biro their lead singer, Cam Snooks the lead guitar, Nathan Colucci on bass and their drummer Jordan Trask.
The second was a band from Kitchener On. called Courage My Love who is a three-piece band made up of twin sisters Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn and their bassist Brandon Lockwood.