Get the best of Vancouver in your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday. Sign up for our free newsletter.
On May 9, Canadian rock icons Arkells brought the final night of their Between Us City Takeover to the Commodore Ballroom.
Lead singer Max Kerman and the band brought unwavering energy and a deep, genuine connection with the audience throughout the night, making it a special treat to see the group in such an intimate venue.
Arkells, who seem to grow in popularity every year, opted to try something different this time around with the release of their new album, Between Us. The band announced the Between Us city takeover, which they will be performing at three different venues in each of the three cities— Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
Vancouverites were treated to three special nights in a row. They kicked things off at the Penthouse Nightclub, then hit the Hollywood Theatre, and then ended things off with the legendary Commodore Ballroom.
At 9:00 pm, the band took the stage to a thunderous roar from the sold-out crowd. For the first half of the show, Arkells ran through Between Us in full, playing each song top to bottom, starting with the anthemic “Next Summer”.
“Imagine Barcelona” was a standout feel-good sing-along tune with Kerman getting the crowd to groove and sing back the last two choruses to him. The frontman said he had only been to Barcelona once and the city clearly left a big impression on him. The tune definitely left more than a few people dreaming of visiting the vibrant city.
During “Two Hearts”, Kerman had the crowd at his fingertips, getting everyone in sync to hold up their hands as hearts before breaking them at the end of every chorus as he sang “Two hearts exploding”.
Before ending things off with the reflective closer, “Escape Room”, the frontman took the opportunity to thank the crowd for spending their Saturday night with the band. He explained that it’s a new experience for them to perform an album front to back, and how special it is to share it in such an intimate setting, getting to test what works and what doesn’t. Kerman reiterated his gratitude for fans attending their city takeover, acknowledging how challenging it was to snag tickets, with each venue understandably selling out within hours.
After a short intermission, Arkells took to the stage again to play the hits and some surprise deep cuts. During songs “Knocking at the Door” and You Can Get It”, a member of Arkells’ touring horn section, Ernesto—who also opened the show with a DJ set—helped bring some of the signature horn sounds the band is known for live.
The group threw it back to some of their formative hits, including “Oh, The Boss is Coming!”, from their 2008 debut album Jackson Square. They even threw in a cover of Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime”, which Kerman alluded to the legendary new wave rockers performing on the very same stage some 50 years ago.
After Arkells left the stage, a “we’re not leaving” chant broke out, eventually rallying the band to come back on for an encore. Suddenly, the crowd on the floor began to shuffle to the left of the venue as Kerman suddenly appeared atop a ledge, with just him and his guitar. He motioned to the crowd to be quiet as he didn’t have a microphone or his guitar plugged in. In unison, the crowd sang the opening to “Leather Jacket” before drummer Timothy Oxford kicked in the rest of the band on stage, while Kerman ran back to join them.
Arkells proved that they can rock just about any venue they give them, from headlining Rogers Arena to some of the most legendary music clubs in the city. One thing is for certain: their energy and their ability to connect with the audience stays just as strong, no matter the room size.
Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo Hunter Soo