No matter what type of rock music you listen to, you have probably heard of Three Days Grace. The Canadian rockers have been around since the late 90s/early 2000s and on June 19th, brought their act with not one, but two vocalists to Toronto’s Budweiser Stage along with Volbeat and Wage War.
Wage War was ushered onto the stage by a gust of wind that blew through the amphitheater. From the beginning to end of their set, the Florida metalcore outfit brought a heaviness to the venue that was simply unmatched. Wage War had everything required for a classic metalcore band: a variety of screams from vocalist Briton Bond, a steady rhythm guitar and the occasional clean vocals from Cody Quistad, ripping riffs and pinch harmonics from lead guitarist, Seth Blake, a bass with earth shaking tones courtesy of Chris Gaylord, and roaring drums that could be felt all the way on the lawn thanks to Stephen Kluesener.
From the barricade to the seats, everyone was either headbanging, moshing or moving their heads to the beat of the song. The band opened their set with the explosive track, NAIL5, and ended on their most popular song, Manic. But in between, they added more melody focused songs, such as BLUR, and an emotional and raw performance of MAGNETIC. Wage War captivated the crowd with heavy riffs, raw emotion and a talent that’s hard to come by these days, and by the end of their set, the crowd was cheering and buzzing with excitement.
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Volbeat was next to the stage, and brought a completely different energy as the sun went down. The Danish heavy metal band of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Michael Poulsen, drummer Jon Larsen, bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen and touring guitarist Flemming C. Lund sported the spooky imagery typically associated with that of the metal bands of the 80s and 90s. In terms of sound, Volbeat was very melodic and riff heavy, focusing more on powerful, harsh singing as opposed to the heavy screams that were heard just minutes before. Volbeat was fantastic at pulling a viewer into their performance; they were always walking around the stage, and switching sides to use each other’s microphones. Their light show was nothing short of impressive, and when Volbeat bid Toronto goodbye, they were met with a long, drawn out cheer.
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Finally, it was time for the act everyone was waiting for: Three Days Grace. For this tour, the band had two vocalists performing: current vocalist Matt Walsh, as well as returning original vocalist Adam Gontier. The rest of the band consisting of lead guitarist Barry Stock, bassist Brad Walsh, and Neil Sandersong brought a vivacious and warm energy to the stage.
After each member of the band took to the stage, Brad Walsh started playing the bassline anyone who’s ever heard of Three Days Grace would recognize. The crowd clued in, going crazy at those few beginning notes of The Animal I Have Become. During their first three songs, Matt Walsh and Gontier introduced each other as the lead singers of the band, which was especially heartwarming to watch. As Three Days Grace brought out more songs, the number of crowdsurfers only grew. Every few seconds, a smiling fan was brought over the barricade and ran out of the photo pit smiling and screaming along to the songs.
Three Days Grace played a variety of songs from their discography, with old songs such as Break and Pain being played, as well as newer tracks like So Called Life being played. During Pain, Matt Walsh picked up a guitar, lending more vocal responsibility to Gontier. Meanwhile, Stock played a double necked guitar, which didn’t only serve a purpose, but looked especially cool. Between songs, the 16,000 Canadians in attendance at Budweiser Stage were chanting the words “Three Days Grace” while waiting for the band to switch their instruments.
The band went on to introduce their newest song at the time, Apologies. Matt Walsh explained the song was for anyone who knew they needed help but felt like they couldn’t be saved. Both vocalists delivered a heart-wrenching performance. A highlight of that performance was when they would harmonize with one another, which sent a whole new set of emotions over the crowd.
The next song was one that everyone in the crowd had to have known. Or at least knew the two repeating lines of the chorus. The band introduced the song as their very first song that was played on Toronto’s biggest alternative rock station. 102.1 The Edge. The first few notes of the acoustic guitar played, and a boisterous roar erupted from the crowd. Everyone started to sing along, and by the time the first chorus hit, every single voice in the crowd was screaming along to I Hate Everything About You. Following that thunderous performance was I Am Machine, and then a newer song, Mayday. Mayday is a very groovy and danceable song, featuring a unique guitar riff that sounded a lot like an acoustic guitar, and some impressive high notes from Gontier. During Mayday, Matt Walsh also went down from the stage to sing in the crowd, and finished the song with a really gritty shout.
Soon enough, the rest of the band would leave the stage to let Gontier perform a solo cover of Alice In Chains’ Rooster. Phone flashlights and lighters lit up the night sky as Gontier belted out perfectly pitched notes. When the rest of the band re-joined Gontier, they went on to play Just Like You and The Good Life. Their next song, Pain Killer, was the first song that Matt Walsh had recorded with the band. During this time, Gontier picked up a guitar while Walsh called for a mosh pit. Fans immediately obliged, and the second biggest pit of the night opened up. The pit lasted all throughout the song with no sign of stopping even after the song finished. Walsh brought the song to a close by sustaining a really nice clean note and punctuated it with a full fry scream.
The last two songs were Just Like You, where the band encouraged the crowd to bring out their flashlights or lighters. If you looked around the venue, the sea of lights along with the gorgeous light show from the stage put the stars above the venue to shame. The softness of Just Like You was enjoyed for a while… until Walsh had the crowd start chanting the word “riot”. The song that followed was the aptly-titled Riot. The biggest mosh pit of the night opened up, once again lasting throughout the entire song. Walsh and Gontier entered the crowd again, and Walsh finished the song by singing on the barricade directly to fans. Once Riot concluded, Three Days Grace bid their biggest crowd of the tour goodbye and walked off the stage to the sound of 16,000 fans chanting “Three Days Grace”.
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