When it comes to alternative music, Canada may as well be the Phantom Zone: so many artists who fill arenas and enjoy legend status in the Great White North find themselves playing to far fewer people whenever they step beyond the border. Billy Talent and Alexisonfire aren’t as big here as they are at home, where pretty much everything they do charts in the top 10, but they’re each still pioneers of millennial post-hardcore with cult international followings. London demonstrates its dedication tonight, as thousands of fans come out during a 35-degree heatwave to see them play their respective 2006 albums in full.
“Tonight is all about gratitude,” says BILLY TALENT vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz. The opening co-headliners swagger their way through second effort II with genuine glee, and during such standouts as Devil In A Midnight Mass, Red Flag and Fallen Leaves, Wembley Arena reaches the same level of joy, singing along en masse. The highlight of the set, though, is the video production the four-piece have brought with them. Throughout, vocal hooks from Kowalewicz and guitar lines from Ian D’Sa are paired with footage of the band laying down the exact same part in clubs 20 years ago. The videos run in perfect sync with the performance, making for a pleasing full-circle moment.
But, the second the Mississaugans leave the stage, it’s obvious who the crowd’s really here for. A wave of tatted, skate-apparel-sporting punks instantly surges forward in anticipation of ALEXISONFIRE, so enthusiastic that they’re happy to be rammed together in this scorching weather. The St Catharines aggressors stride out under ironic archive footage of the 1977 New York snowstorm, which inspired the imagery of their lauded breakthrough album Crisis.
Drunks, Lovers, Sinners And Saints starts with a declaration of their DIY ethos – “This is from our hearts! Sincerity over simple chords!” – which London recites like a pledge of allegiance. What follows is both rawer and more dynamic than the first show of the night, screamer George Pettit leading the band through passages of rampant hardcore before co-singers/guitarists Dallas Green and Wade MacNeil steal the grand, melodic highs. This Could Be Anywhere In The World, Boiled Frogs and the title track are all time-tested favourites that get a pit swirling in between moments of sweet reprieve.
It’s testament to Crisis’ excellence that, unlike so many front-loaded album-in-full sets we’ve seen, the deep cuts keep the energy high. Keep It On Wax hasn’t been played live since 2012, yet the audience fills in the gaps during MacNeil’s cries of “I! I guess! The only thing cheap to you is your friends!” Many a phone is held high for the following To A Friend, as Green flexes the vocal muscles that have made his indie solo project, City And Colour, a chart-topping juggernaut in its own right.
2006 b-side Thrones is played for the first time ever during the encore, cementing this evening as a truly special occasion. As Alexis then default to early hits Pulmonary Archery and Happiness By The Kilowatt, the set ends with the kind of rich, textured but savage material which made them once-in-a-generation. The self-described ‘only band in the world’ have once again proved why no one else matters.
Billy Talent setlist: Wembley Arena, London – June 24, 2026
Devil In A Midnight MassRed FlagThis SufferingWorker BeesPins And NeedlesFallen LeavesWhere Is The Line?Covered In CowardiceSurrenderThe Navy SongPerfect WorldSympathyBurn The EvidenceRusted From The RainDevil On My ShoulderReckless ParadiseViking Death March
Alexisonfire setlist: Wembley Arena, London – June 24, 2026
Drunks, Lovers, Sinners And SaintsThis Could Be Anywhere In The WorldMailbox ArsonBoiled FrogsWe Are The SoundYou Burn FirstWe Are The EndCrisisKeep It On WaxTo A FriendRough HandsThrones (live debut)Pulminary ArcheryHappiness By The Kilowatt
(LouderSound)
Leave a Reply