The Blame Canada Tour @ SOMA in San Diego
Featuring Sum41, Simple Plan and Magnolia Park
Photos by: Samantha Madnick
Words by: Rudy Flores
SOMA San Diego marked the 26th stop of Sum 41's Blame Canada Tour with Simple Plan and Magnolia Park. The incredible 36 stop tour has been pretty much sold out from the jump and tonight was no exception!
The crowds showed up early, eager to catch every bit of the action which started off with Magnolia Park. A relatively new band formed in 2019 (right before the world took a shit...pandemic wise...i mean lets be honest, it was already in shambles besides that) the Pop/Punk band out of Orlando brings an eclectic flare of hip-hop, emo, and alt pop. Lead vocalist Joshua Roberts, guitarists Tristan Torres and Freddie Criales, bassist Jared Kay, drummer Joe Horsham, and keyboardist Vincent Erns DEFINITELY have their own style as they blend all of those genres into a sound that captivated the entire crowd. Playing songs from their 2022 EP Heart Eater, their short but extremely enjoyable set included a song that TikTok keeps taking down as Joshua stated named "Don't Be Racist". Definitely one to check out as are the rest of the tracks! Magnolia Park is definitely a breath of fresh air which is desperately needed nowadays...especially in this swelter box of a venue that is SOMA. Seriously...can you guys turn a fan on? It's like a hot box of armpit funk in here!
ANYWAYS....time to reapply that Speed Stick because the night was just getting started!
By the time Simple Plan took to the stage it was absolutely packed. The elbow room was nonexistent and the pit was ready to get rowdy. With everyone's cell phones poised for the perfect video Pierre Bouvier, Chuck Comeau, Jeff Stinco, and Sébastien Lefebvre started their set with the Star Wars theme and their 2002 release "I'd Do Anything" from the No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls" album, to a thunderous applause. The crowd participation was on point as the entire audience belted out song after song as if it were a legit singalong! The light and smoke show that ensued for "SHUT UP" was a huge crowd pleaser as the title flashed in the background while the canons blasted smoke with each beat of the drum! The medley of All Star/ Sk8er Boi/ and Mr. Brightside was a treat for everyone wanting some of that good late 90's early 2000's sound and the What's New Scooby-Doo theme song brought smiles to listeners new and old.
During their performance of "Im just a kid" (made famous again recently by tiktok) Chuck Comeau did a little safety suit crowd surfing as he dawned a hazmat suit with a gas mask and jumped into the crowd while Magnolia Park frontman Joshua Roberts sang vocals. Crazy that this is the state of crowd surfing but BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!!! The 16 track setlist ended perfectly with "Perfect" (see what i did there? Wink wink laugh laugh!) again from their 2002 release. Simple Plan left it all on the main stage of SOMA and the fans loved them for it!
Finally it was time for Sum 41 to hit the stage and they hit it RUNNING with AC/DC's "TNT" bleeding into "Motivation" from their debut 2001 release All Killer No Filler. Filled with piss and vinegar and the energy of a band performing their very first show, Sum 41 made the stage their bitch with their "take no prisoners" stage presence and their control of the crowd was nothing short of amazing. It was because of this that all their energy was met in full by the crowd that was as diverse as it could possibly be. That's the best part about music too, it is for EVERYONE, no matter the age, lifestyle, religion, or ethnicity! Deryck, Dave, Jason, Tom & Frank poured their heart and souls out for everyone and gave the crowd their money's worth and then some.
Sum 41 ended the evening with a killer cover of Queen's "We Will Rock You" along with their breakout hit Fat Lip from AKNF and Still Waiting from the 2002 release "Does This Look Infected?" and as the sweaty (disgustingly so) fans made their way out one thing could be said of the Blame Canada tour...IT KICKED ASS!!
