Alexisonfire heats up Bell MTS Place

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This article was published 20/01/2020 (2250 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The halls of Bell MTS Place were surprisingly quiet Monday night; scattered clusters of fans shuttled from the merch table to the bar chatting amongst themselves at a respectable volume, the near-empty pre-show bowl feeling unprepared for what was to come. Not the scene you’d expect before an Alexisonfire and Distillers show.

But that calm was short lived; the ear-shattering tunes were quick to wake things up and by the time Canadian post-hardcore/screamo band Alexisonfire made it to stage precisely at their scheduled time of 9:05 p.m. (there’s nothing more punk than punctuality, after all), things felt as they should; very loud and very energized.

Winnipeg is the opening stop on Alexisonfire’s current five-show tour and that first-show adrenaline was in full swing immediately; 10 minutes in and frontman and vocalist George Pettit had already torn his T-shirt in half during Boiled Frogs from 2006’s Crisis.

Though it may not seem like it from the outside, Alexisonfire is actually a pretty approachable in the larger context of hardcore music; the now famous juxtaposition of guitarist/vocalist Dallas Green’s sweet, melodic verses and Pettit’s passionate screaming is even more effective live and makes for an engaging and balanced performance.

“Winnipeg, I’ve loved you ever since I crashed my parents’ car on the way here for a hardcore festival!” Pettit exclaimed before launching into the title track from Crisis.

While quite a few songs from Crisis found their way into the set, Alexisonfire pulled from all corners of its catalogue; from early favourites such as Side Walk When She Walks from their sophomore album, 2004’s Watch Out to Old Crows, one of the title tracks from their 2009 album, to their more recent releases, such as 2019’s Familiar Drugs. And in this rare instance both the band and the fans seemed to revel equally in the new material.

At press time, the five-piece was still pushing hard 75 minutes into their main set, closing it out with another Crisis hit, This Could Be Anywhere in the World, a clear crowd favourite that filled the room with an explosive energy.

Pettit has said in interviews (including when he spoke with the Free Press a few weeks ago) he believes Alexisonfire is a better band now than they’ve ever been, both in studio and on stage, and he just might be right.

Los Angeles-based punk band the Distillers filled the middle slot Monday night. It’s been more than 16 years since the Distillers released a new record; the band officially called it quits at the end of 2006, reuniting in 2018 and last year, frontwoman Brody Dalle told fans via Instagram the band would be making a new record.

Though there’s lots on the horizon for the Distillers to be pumped up about, vigour was noticeably lacking; the brief 40-minute set was sonically powerful, but, as far as rock concerts go, quite dull in terms of visuals. A lot of power stances and fast strumming, a little chatter to the audience that typically started with “this is a song about…” and not much else. No one seemed to mind, however, as more and more of the floor crowd slowly got swallowed up by a slam-dancing circle.

Despite her lack of physicality on stage, Dalle is an incredibly emotive vocalist. The toned-down early moments of The Hunger, from 2003’s Coral Fang, offered up the first real glimpse of that vocal prowess. Yes, she can charge through a punk scream with the best of them, but her distinct rasp thrives in slower, quieter moments, too.

Montreal-based all-female “doom pop” band Nobro opened the night with a grungy yet peppy 30-minute set. The four-piece is gearing up to release their new EP, Sick Hustle, this spring (April 3) and if it’s anything like their live set, it will be loud, fast and relentless (not in a bad way). Each woman commands her own instrument with confidence, but Nobro has a particular star in Karolane Carbonneau, who would quietly creep out of her corner to absolutely rip on electric guitar.

Their vocals could use some work — screams can, in fact, be off key — but seemed to even out the further they got into their set.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel