“Simple Plan! Simple Plan!” As the adoring fans willed the French-Canadian rockers back for the obligatory encore, the Palace Theatre in Melbourne was draped in darkness. “Simple Plan! Simple Plan!” The band was taking a five-minute breather backstage before returning to play a couple more songs and, after all, they deserved it. They had just spent an exhausting hour and 15 minutes on stage performing their hearts out.The set started just as it had ended; darkness and a chanting crowd. As the show began, the lights strobed while a steady beat on a backtrack played out. As if by magic, the band suddenly appeared on stage in front of a black backdrop upon which the words ‘Simple Plan’ were emblazoned, along with simple doodles. They immediately started performing the hit single ‘Shut Up!’ from their sophomore album, Still Not Getting Any.

Two things are for certain. These guys know how to write an infectiously catchy pop-punk tune and they’ve got their live performance down-pat. They bounce around like kernels of corn in a hot pot while managing to deliver a clinically tight performance. From old to new, the band went into the first single off their latest album, ‘Can’t Keep My Hands Off Of You’. Emulating the lyrics, lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier rubbed his hands up and down his body while female punters looked on lustfully. In the middle of the third song, ‘Jump’, the band unexpectedly broke away into their own rendition of Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’.

After that, Simple Plan paused to greet the crowd. “Are you feeling sexy tonight?” bassist David Desrosiers asked. “Let’s try and sweat as much as we can tonight!” He also noted that they had brought along a guest DJ from Montreal named DJ Funky C. Desrosiers promised that one day soon, Funky C will be super famous. And so started the funky beats of ‘When I’m Gone’, the first single from their third, self-titled album.

Before going into one of the older songs of the night, ‘Addicted’, Bouvier told the crowd that after this gig he wanted the fans to walk away feeling as if they’re a part of the band. A young girl standing in the top tier of the venue audibly exclaimed, “I’m part of the band! I’m part of the band!” The band continued to pepper their set with songs new and old. For the performance of their current massive single ‘Jet Lag’, they invited Jenna McDougall (vocalist for the Sydney-based band Tonight Alive) on stage with them. McDougall and her band have had quite an exciting couple of months. Last month they toured with American band, Anberlin, where she was also invited on stage to perform with them. Later this month Tonight Alive will be joined by American punk-rockers, Rufio, on the launch tour of their debut record, What Are You So Scared Of. Tonight they had the honour of performing before Simple Plan as did Sydney band, New Empire.

Towards the end of the set, Simple Plan performed a medley that included Cee Lo Green’s ‘Fuck You’, Taio Cruz’s ‘Dynamite’ and Pink’s ‘Raise Your Glass’. Desrosiers told the fans how he’d like to marry an Australian girl and invited girls back to his hotel to audition in his shower. They ended off the main portion of their set with a promise that they’d return in 2012 and the song ‘Welcome To My Life’. Bouvier and Desrosiers jumped into the crowd while fans got to sample the merchandise, so to speak. After the song, the bassist asked of his singer, “Are you okay?” The voxman nonchalantly replied “Of course I’m okay!” As they left the stage the crowd started chanting, “Simple Plan! Simple Plan!”

– Brett Schewitz

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