SPILL LIVE REVIEW: BILLY TALENT w/ CROWN LANDS & NOBRO @ PETERBOROUGH MEMORIAL CENTRE, PETERBOROUGH

BILLY TALENT w/ CROWN LANDS & NOBRO

@ PETERBOROUGH MEMORIAL CENTRE, PETERBOROUGH

AUGUST 6, 2024

Billy Talent stormed through the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Tuesday night for the second to last date on their Summer 2024 tour.  A tour that has seen them perform in various spots in Europe including multiple shows in the UK.

The night kicked off with openers Nobro and Crown Lands.  Nobro infused the lively audience with a solid set of high energy garage punk.  Crown Lands did not disappoint the smattering of “insiders” who enjoyed the duo’s technically solid, and surprisingly rich sounding brand of prog-rock.  Surprising only because the dense sounds were coming from just the pair of performers.

Billy Talent took the stage just shortly after 9:00 pm and did not disappoint the sold-out crowd.  The band was represented by the usual suspects of Ben Kowalewicz on lead vocals, Ian D’Sa on guitar, Jonathan Gallant on bass and touring drummer Loel Campbell (Wintersleep).  Kowalewicz was his ever engaging, affable self, making several connections with various sections of the crowd as well as some lucky individuals.  One of the connections was made when Kowalewicz singled out a young girl on her father’s shoulders and threw her a drumstick from about 9 m, instantly producing a lifelong fan.  D’Sa and Gallant powered through the set with high energy and precision in both their playing and their accompanying vocals.

The 21-song setlist that spanned across Billy Talent’s six studio albums did not disappoint the capacity crowd composed of repeat patrons and many first timers, as the question was responded to by a show of hands early on.  The band set the tone for the evening by firing straight into “Devil In A Midnight Mass”.  Kowalewicz also set the tone early on by encouraging the audience to take care of themselves and look out for those around them while enjoying the show.  At around the middle of the set, before performing “Nothing To Lose” from their self-titled debut album, which deals with social issues relating to rejection, depression, and suicide, Kowalewicz encouraged to crowd to be aware of the possible mental struggles in others and to seek help with any personal struggles.

The band chose to power through their entire set without the customary encore break.  For the audience this revealed or reminded them of two distinct things.  First, simply the “workman” like feel that this band has developed over the 40 plus years they have been performing.  They know they have a job to do, and they rarely, if ever, underperform.  Second, this band has way more recognizable “bangers” than even I give them credit for.  This was made even more apparent as crowd participation was fully active and encouraged throughout the set.  The leadup to what would have been the end of the first set kept building and building with crowd favourites, (“Reckless Paradise”, “Surprise Surprise”, “Devil on My Shoulder”).  When you pile on a few more well-known songs that would have made up the encore, (“Viking Death March”, “Red Flag”), coupled with the final number (“Fallen Leaves”) and you feel you’ve gotten steamrolled by a band that ensures that everyone goes home happy.

By the end of the night, the thought was that they must have emptied the tank in both spanning favourites from their extensive catalogue, as well as their energy consumption leaving what little they had left for their final stop on the tour, but they left just enough to encourage the capacity crowd to return on their next visit, which seems highly likely.

Billy Talent Links

Crown Lands Links

Nobro Links

Background & Inlay Photo Credit: Mark Paterson

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