Sum 41

Halifax Forum
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
April 15, 2002

By Neil McCormick

   I got to the Forum about an hour before the doors opened, but I ended up about 500 people back in the line-up. Damn. By the time I got in there were already a lot of people on the floor (in the soon-to-be mosh pit) so I joined in, about ten or fifteen rows back from the stage.
    First up was the local Halifax boys, Shyne Factory. Chances are if you don't live in the Halifax area you haven't heard of them. However, they're VERY good and they played quite the performance. The crowd was nuts. They played for a half hour...during which I moved up about 10 rows using extreme force to my advantage.
    Next up was a punk band I had never heard of called H20. I must've been the only one who didn't know them because just about everyone there knew every word to their songs. They weren't too bad, but honestly, I think Shyne Factory beat the pants off their performance. H20 played about an hour worth of tunes before they cleared the stage to make way for the main event. It seemed like an eternity before Sum 41 made their way onstage to an immediate chorus of screaming teenage girls and dedicated rock fans.
    The band immediately broke into their current single "Motivation". This got the crowd going! I was about five rows from Cone, the bass player, in the mosh pit. The band proceeded to play most of their songs from their current album "All Killer, No Filler" and also played some stuff from their last album, "Half Hour of Power". About halfway through their performance Deryck and Dave (vocals and lead guitar) competed in a guitar-off. Dave came up with the victory after a very entertaining few minutes. A little later into the show Deryck shouts "We know you Halifax people are crazy, but be careful not to hurt anybody! If somebody falls down, pick them up! Nobody wants a black eye...or a bloody nose...or a FAT LIP..." And the whole place goes nuts as they begin the opening riff to their most famous song, Fat Lip. After an hour and fifteen minutes or so they left the stage and said goodnight. Nobody moved and an immediate chant of "Sum Forty-One!" could be heard throughout the arena. They returned for an encore of "Pain For Pleasure", their final track from their current album. Playing with them was Greig Nori, who is a manager for Sum 41 as well as the lead singer of Treble Charger. After a well appreciated encore, Sum 41 stepped down from the stage for good, leaving a crowd of hardcore rock fans begging for more.

   I was extremely impressed with the concert! When I saw them on SNL their live sound really wasn't as good as on their CD, but IN PERSON...it's astounding. Ten times better at least! Their pure energy is enough to blow you away. The "Sum Like It Loud" tour is coming across some of Canada and the U.S. If you are a fan of rock music and you have a chance to see these guys...go for it! You'll be pleasantly surprised on how well they perform.

   I'm Neil McCormick and those are my two cents.

Thanks to Chloe for the autographs and pics from the show!