Canadian rockers Sum 41 called it quits after 30 years of madness and mayhem. The iconic punks were kind of a go to fix for us rock lovers and hence the move isn’t exactly what we had expected. The Walking Disasters decided for one final blow before it comes to an end with one more UK tour including London’s iconic OVO Arena Wembley.
The past three decades have seen the band perform only once at this venue in 2003. The Canadian rockers were back with a bang, this time at one of the largest venues in UK, after pulling a huge crowd at this year’s Download festival held back in June.
The crowd awaited the giants to take on the stage, while singing along Last Resort and American Idiot along with the PA. And then the lights went down and as AC/DC’s TNT blares up across the hall room, and after the intro to celebrate the beginning of the “ritual”, Frontman Deryck Whibley rushes across the stage as the curtain goes down. The beasts start the evening blasting off their 2002 release “Motivation”.
The band had made sure sure they end it with a bang, a massive high-energy performance along with the perfect showmanship: fire, confetti and even a giant skeleton at one point! The 10,000 strong crowd went berserk, so much so that they have to stop their performance for five minutes due to a crowd injury, just on to their second song “Hell Song”.
After that the band got back on stage blasting Over My Head, Screaming Bloody Murder and Underclass Hero. The audience had the time of their life watching the band that they turned to when they needed to shout and cry, in times they needed Hope. It’s definitely not only about the nostalgia but Sum 41 has to be one of the most fun and entertaining alternative bands!
Deryck even pointed out that “the world has had enough of Sum 41”, to which the fans started booing. “It’s heartwarming to hear your boos,” smiles Deryck. As sad as this is, the band played continued. They played two cuts from their last album Heaven :x: Hell: Landmines and Dopamine. As the music fills up the room, equally sad fans sing along.
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Sum 41 have been a sort of mavericks when it comes to their genre of music. They have composed numerous rock bangers, but the metal influence was new to the time when they had began their journey. They belted out their 2004 song “We’re All To Blame” for the metalheads right after Dopamine. The Ontario rockers even jammed to Slayer’s “Raining Blood” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”. Deryck also sang a softer piano song “Best Of Me”, his favorite one to play live as he had said years back, to change the monotony.
The band’s biggest hit “Fat Lip” which Deryck had penned as a teenager, which talks about his teenage self breaking from the shackles of his parents, came just before the closing song. All these years and still as loud and bold as when the band had started! The closing song for their last gig was “In Too Deep”. With lots of emotions in their eyes, brought about by their songs throughout the years, so many memories and nostalgia, mesmerized fans witnessed their rock heroes one last time for few last moments.
It definitely hurts a little that Sum 41 will never play live in UK again. But they will be in our hearts through their recorded works. Always with us on our phones on the streaming platforms, though not live on stage again. But in these times we have to remind ourselves how the Ontario beasts decided to end it bold and brave with a blow, how they made it all these years in spite of the highs and lows. We can only be grateful this happened.
The Tour of the Setting Sum is set to end in January 2025 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
Sum 41 London setlist
Motivation
The Hell Song
Over My Head (Better Off Dead)
Screaming Bloody Murder
Underclass Hero
War
Welcome To Hell
Landmines
Dopamine
We’re All To Blame
Some Say
No Reason
Walking Disaster
With Me
Makes No Difference
My Direction / No Brains / All Messed Up
Best Of Me
Preparasi a salire
Rise Up
Pieces
What We’re All About
Fat Lip
Still Waiting
Encore:
Summer
Waiting On A Twist Of Fate
In Too Deep
Encore 2:
Noots
