Kicking off the show, Not By Choice did a fine job of breaking in the alcohol-free crowd with a rousing set of tunes from their recently released album, Maybe One Day. Minimal prodding managed to incite the girlies into high-gear, screaming and flailing away to the slightest hand wave. Belting the tunes out as best they could, NBC displayed a great deal of improvement performance-wise. Active, interactive and enthusiastic, they were instantly likeable even during the moderate snags that happen to a young band paying their dues. If the after-show merchandise area is any indication of how far these cats will go, buy lots of stock in felt-tipped pens and soap. Pens for the kiddies, soap for the parents to scrub off the marker-laden skin�
Still, while Not By Choice�s efforts weren�t in vain, they were no match for their longhorn brother band Sum 41. With a set mainly comprised of hits from their ages-old album All Killer, No Filler, the capacity crowd were so eager that at times they almost drowned out the sub-par P.A.
Far more comfortable on stage than they�ve been in the past, the Sum boys wasted no time poking fun at the crowd and themselves, giving the show that fun vibe the band are infamous for. It was a stark contrast to the typical "we're doing you a favour by playing this shithole" feeling most big bands give at these "special" gigs.
All in all, while the majority of audience members were so excited they couldn�t give a shit either way, this stop of the Pepsi tour did prove that while Sum 41 have been constantly panned by critics, maybe all the touring is turning them into a real band. Oh yeah, special kudos to the dreddie who danced like an ass on stage, then dove headfirst into the crowd landing with a thud on the concrete floor.
