The rest of the town may still be abuzz over some other band coming to town (The Rolling Stones… I don’t know, I’ve never heard of them either), but last night, I was over at The Centre in Vancouver checking out another concert. Rolling through town were a quad of Canadian rock bands, each more hard hitting than the last. Three Days Grace was the headline act, but backing them up were the likes of Idle Sons, Mobile, and Theory of a Deadman.


I’ve been to concerts before (most recently, Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey), but this is the first time that I’ve ever been to a rock concert, let alone getting this damn close to the stage. As this was at The Centre, there was no such thing as “floor seats”, meaning that there wasn’t going to be a stereotypical mosh pit set up. Remember this is the same place that they show relatively upscale musicals and plays, so I have to admit that the choice of venue was certainly a little strange.

Anyways, I was in row six, close enough to see the beads of sweat running down their brows. What this also meant was that I was insanely close to the blasting speakers: each thump of the bass reverberated through my very being, rattling the hoody on my back and the soles of my feet. I think my ears are still ringing.

Prior to the show, I wasn’t particularly familiar with any of the groups, with the exception of Three Days Grace (their most recent album — One X — is pretty darn good). So, my experience may have been different than the countless other raving fans in the audience.

Idle Sons was easily the least known of the groups, and as such, they received the least enthusiastic response. They had to ask the audience to get on their feet, whereas spontaneous headbanging and moshjumping was nothing out of the ordinary for Three Days Grace. That said, I’d say they did a reasonably good job keeping the earlycomers entertained.

Mobile had a very Brit pop feel to their music. The lead vocalist, Mat Joly, clearly looks like he is in love with Bono. His every mannerism, the intonations in his voice, even his wardrobe and hairstyle were very much like the U2 icon. He emerged on the stage with slick straight black hair, parted in the middle, large sunglasses, and a leather jacket. Their best known single is probably “Out of My Head” (which you can see below; please excuse the poor cameraphone quality), but I was particularly entertained by “See Right Through Me.”

I’m no fan of Theory of a Deadman, but I wouldn’t say that I didn’t enjoy their set. They played well into the enthusiastic crowd, tossing countless guitar picks into the audience as keepsakes. At the end of their portion of the show, the drummer — Brent Fitz — even tossed his sticks.

The highlight of the show (for me) was definitely Three Days Grace. Best yet, they opened their set with my personal favorite from their latest album. The crowd automatically stood up on their feet as soon as the house lights dimmed. A distorted bassy sound blasted through the speakers, riling up the fans even more. And then, as they trotted onto the stage, the music started… Animal I Have Become.

It was powerful. It was exciting. It was an absolute thrill.

Three Days Grace played an assortment of songs from both of their albums (their first was self-titled), but I particularly enjoyed the songs that had a real “punch” to the chorus, like “Riot.” It was a little strange watching Adam Gothier (the lead singer) perform his cover version of Chris Isaak’s biggest hit, “Wicked Game.”

The show was wicked. The only low point was leaving afterwards, emerging from the warmth, comfort, and adrenaline of The Centre into the cold, damp streets with the snow still pouring down from the heavens.

I can’t tell if my ears are still ringing.