Sum 41’s much anticipated return to the Chicago club scene hit all the right notes on a Friday night in the city. From the opening with the fan favorite, “The Hell Song,” I had flashbacks of watching the music video over and over with my brothers in my childhood basement. The flood of nostalgia that filled me was recognizable on the rest of the crowd, including the security guards. The pit, mostly consisting of twenty-something guys chugging their beers, was animated throughout the entire 24 song set. Deryck Whibley took breaks from singing to pull some fans up on stage a few times during the night. Whibley also took a break mid song to build anticipation and reintroduce Dave Baksh (nicknamed Dave Brownsound) to the crowd, who cheered loudly in return.
The hour and a half set was littered with favorites such as “In Too Deep,” “Walking Disaster” and “Motivation,” mixed in with brand new songs off their recent record, 13 Voices, which was released earlier this month. All the songs were well received. Whibley exclaimed “…this is the best date of the tour, Chicago!” at one point and the sold-out venue agreed in screams and whistling. The band returned after their “last song” to play a four song encore—brief covers of “Smoke on the Water” and “Seven Nation Army” that played right into “Pieces.” And though Buddy Nielsen, frontman of opening band Senses Fail, teased that Sum 41 was not going to play “Fat Lip”, they indeed played “Fat Lip” to close the night out. The night was a celebration of Sum 41’s 20th anniversary as a band, and Chicago showed the same support that has been present ever since Half Hour of Power.
Physical – Target exclusive CD with 4 bonus tracks: http://smarturl.it/13VoicesTarget
Digital – iTunes: smarturl.it/13voices
Streaming – Spotify: smarturl.it/13VoicesSpotify
