Arkells play with the same heart and energy in a sold-out venue that holds 1,000 or a poorly attended show in a tiny bar. I’ve never seen the latter happen, but I have seen them at three different-sized places and the vibe was exactly the same each time. They’re entertainers there to put on a show, and they do not disappoint.

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A band since the mid 2000’s, Arkells has really taken off over the past couple years with the albums High Noon and most recently Morning Report. Their fans are fiercely loyal and many of them drive several hours to catch a show. There’s a great rapport between the band and the crowd at every show, with lead singer Max Kerman often making more than one trip out to the back of the room to share a moment with the fans that didn’t arrive early enough to be at the front.

A lot of the songs turn into sing-a-longs, and on this night they brought up a guy named Ryan (I think) to play guitar on “Private School.” They covered a little bit of “Same Drugs” by Chance The Rapper and Max said he thinks he and Chance may be long lost cousins. They closed the main set with a cover of Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down A Dream” and were joined by opener Irontom.

Setlist:

Amazing Grace/Making Due, Come To Light, Michigan Left, Never Thought That This Would Happen, 11:11, Coming Back Home, Private School, Pulling, Drake’s Dad, Leather Jacket, And Then Some, Whistleblower, Dirty Blonde, Rain (A Song For Pete), My Heart’s Always Yours, Runnin’ Down A Dream

Encore:

Cynical Bastards, Knocking At The Door