Arkells and Poolside Ignite London's Budweiser Gardens with High-Energy Show

Arkells hit London’s Budweiser Gardens this past Saturday October 26 and thrilled with what is best described as a high-energy alt-rock musical extravaganza. Opening for them on this tour is LA chillwave pop band Poolside.

Poolside delivered a very chill and groovy sound that put the crowd in a very easy-going, happy mood from the start. The vibe was kind of modern yacht rock and very soothing to listen to. Their cover of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon was a nice tribute to “their favorite Canadian. I thoroughly enjoyed them and from the look of the swaying crowd, they did too.

Hamilton’s Arkells have been around for almost two decades now and have a very strong and loyal following and I can see why. The band is high energy and frontman Max Kerman is very charismatic and lively on stage. Their touring horn section adds a lot of pizzaz and in parts of the performance march around Kerman while they play. The effect is, nobody sits during an Arkells show, everyone is out of their seats and dancing to the music.

One of the cool features at their shows is a payphone on the floor in front of the soundboard at which fans may call in requests. Kerman and guitarist Mike DeAngelis made their way to the payphone to perform an acoustic version of the song Only for a Moment in the crowd.

Another memorable moment occurred when the band grouped around keyboardist Anthony Carone while he performed a keyboard solo. There’s a great feeling of community between the band and its fans. The band actually makes a point of checking with security after every show to find out if there were any disturbances requiring someone to be ejected and there are surprisingly few.

It's great to see a show with such positive energy that leaves fans with a smile on their faces. The last song of the main set is a cover of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me and there is not a single person in the crowd not singing along.

This was my first Arkells show but I suspect it will not be my last. A very uplifting evening and something we need a lot more of.

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