Fabulous music & Big Feelings with hits out of the park
by Rich from Saskatoon on 2024-11-05SaskTel Centre - SaskatoonRating: 5 out of 5Love the Juno Award winning Arkells, but was used to seeing them in smaller venues. When they hit SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon (13,000 seat auditorium) for their Big Feelings Tour, I was wondering how the Hamilton based band would translate to the big stage. The evening started with a band from Los Angeles, 'Poolside'. I loved their chill vibe and have been hearing their version of Neil Young's 'Harvest Moon' in regular rotation on Stingray. I enjoyed their material and would definitely see them again. Now, to the main act, The Arkells. The stage was large and well utilized by all band members. Lead singer Max Kerman exhibited endless energy; going into the crowd to make the evening personal for the audience. Mike DeAngelis: Lead guitar and backing vocals; Nick Dika: Bass and keyboards; Tim Oxford: Drums and percussion; Anthony Carone: Keyboards, rhythm guitar, mandolin, and backing vocals and the Northern Soul horn players are top notch musicians. Each band member contributed greatly to the show. Great lighting ; audio was a bit muddy at first but got cleared up after a few tunes - the venue is an acoustical challenge. Heard some new material - must say I did not care for the country-ish vibe in one tune; I much prefer their straight up pop/rock efforts. But they have to give it a try. All in all, a fantastic evening! And Canadian too, eh? Yay!