Arkells Rally Cry Tour Finale Thrills Kingston Fans

The Arkells finished off their Rally Cry Tour in Kingston and made it a giant Rock ‘n’Roll party!

The show was opened by Nashville’s Coin who gained attention in 2016 with their single “Talk Too Much” from their debut album How Will You Know If You Never Try. The single peaked at number 8 on the US Alt charts and is one of their most popular songs in concert as well. Their stage show is high energy and their lead singer and keyboard player, Chase Lawrence is a big reason for that. He is an entertainer for sure with his own brand of high octane performance, rarely seen on any stage.

When the Arkells hit the stage, it was electric. Max Kerman has been compared to a Canadian version of Mick Jagger with his onstage antics, dancing, crowd surfing and his desire to interact with the fans. I will say, out of all the current Canadian rockers I’ve seen, Max sets the bar extremely high for anyone else. He didn’t crowd surf at this show but he did head into the crowd on a couple of occasions, once being to personally sing “And Then Some” to a couple who had used it for their wedding song.

Arkells played Leon’s Centre almost exactly two years prior to this and it was great to catch up to them once more. If it was possible, I think they were even better on this tour than that night two years ago. The stage had a large runway that they made excellent use of and then even performed “Book Club” from there with the whole band. This served well to reach the audience, giving more people that chance for an up-close moment.

One thing that I personally loved was the Northern Soul Horns. This group of four horn players sent the music to a whole new level for me. These people were not just players at the back of the stage, they were a part of the show. They roamed the stage constantly and spent time out on the runway too. The best part was when they returned to the stage after a break wearing Max’s jackets just to see Max’s reaction.

Through the course of their set we heard the songs that made the Arkells a household name in Canada like “Knocking At The Door” which they played as their second song. You know the audience is into it when you have trouble hearing the singer because of their singing. During “A Little Rain” Max spotted someone in the crowd wearing a yellow rain poncho and borrowed it for the song. As their set ended with “Whisleblower” and “Leather Jacket” the crowd once again sang with Max, word for word.

There were no chairs in the general admission area on the floor and that was just as well, they wouldn’t have been used anyway as the crowd spent most of their time dancing to the music. Coin made another appearance in the encore for a combined version of “Dancing On My Own” which was amazing. The closer was their hit “My Heart’s Always Yours”.

This was the first Arkells show that I was able to enjoy in its entirety and I must say I was very impressed. I came away from Leon’s Centre that night as a new fan. I called my wife on the way home and said, “That was the best show I’ve seen in years”!

For more information, checkout the bands’ websites.

Coin

Arkells

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