Alexisonfire’s MacNeil on sobriety, new music and playing bigger venues

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This article was published 10/08/2024 (796 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire is used to headlining shows and hometown festivals, but 23 years into their career the powerhouse performers have taken a rare opening act gig that puts them in front of one of their biggest audiences yet.

The St. Catharines, Ont.-group hits the Rogers Centre on Thursday, when they will open for pop-punk veterans Blink-182 on the final stop of the California group’s “One More Time” tour.

With a capacity of 40,000 people, the Toronto stadium is many times the size of Alexisonfire’s more usual amphitheatres and mid-sized venues, which typically accommodate anywhere from 2,500 to 16,000 people.

Lead guitarist Wade MacNeil said the band welcomed the invitation from Blink-182, which reunited with their founding guitarist and co-vocalist Tom DeLonge in 2022.

“We’re a band that doesn’t really open for too many bands.… I haven’t played for 45 minutes in a very long time so for us to go out there and just rip that set, I can’t wait,” MacNeil said in a recent video call from St. Catharines.

American post-hardcore group Pierce the Veil will play before Alexisonfire, while U.K. pop-rock band Hot Milk will kick off the night.

While their styles differ, both Blink-182 and Alexisonfire have a discography spanning decades — and fans of all ages.

MacNeil credits the longevity of Alexisonfire’s music to the band’s avoidance of certain genre conventions, such as breakdowns — a heavy instrumental section in a song that follows a long buildup.

“I think the fact that we shied away from those things, maybe in the past, was a detriment to us but the fact that we didn’t do those things I think are the exact reason our music doesn’t sound so dated,” the 40-year-old said.

MacNeil said the band strives to push their catalogue in new directions.

Their song “Happiness by the Kilowatt” is often extended to a 10-minute show closer, and the band has previously incorporated covers into performances such as Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and even Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” at their reunion set at Riot Fest Toronto in 2015.

However, for the Rogers Centre show, MacNeil promises a tight set of “punishing hits” and “bangers.”

He said the band is aiming to write and record new material soon and get back on the road, but the exact timeline depends on vocalist and guitarist Dallas Green’s schedule with his popular solo folk project City and Colour.

“We’re going to go on tour next year (and we’ve) got a lot of music, we’ve got a ton of ideas. We just need to get together and hash it out,” MacNeil said.

Despite a farewell tour in 2012, Alexisonfire reunited in 2015 for sporadic performances that became more steady over the next few years.

The band, which also includes vocalist George Pettit, bass player Chris Steele and drummer Jordan Hastings, has consistently recorded and performed new material since 2019.

MacNeil said his own mindset on touring has shifted in recent years, after he entered a rehab program in early 2020 to address his alcohol and substance abuse issues. The guitarist said his life is profoundly different than it was five years ago.

“Life has very much expanded since I got clean,” he said.

“Touring is much more vibrant.… I think maybe at one point I thought I was really, really living but the world felt pretty small just because of what I was doing to myself,” he said.

“And now I travel and I go and ride motorcycles and meet people and like, really try and soak up as much possible culture everywhere I go. It’s pretty incredible and very, very different than the way it used to be.”

MacNeil detailed his experience getting clean on the 2021 self-titled debut album for his solo project Dooms Children and said he will release another album of deeply personal songs “relatively soon.”

“It’s pretty heavy putting yourself out there in that way.… I don’t want to shy away from being forthright in my songwriting,” he said.

“I kind of am questioning why I want to do it again with another record but it’s hard to not write personal songs.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2024.