LIVE WIRE: Arkells ain't pullin' any punches.

(Most people don't know this, but "Juno" is actually Latin for "witty pregnant teenager". © 2009 Benjamin Luk.)

If there’s one band I haven’t heard enough buzz about this year, it’s the Arkells. With a youthfully authentic Canadian rock sound perfect for the working-class twenty-something, it only takes a listen or two before you start wondering how you ever got through a day at the office without them. In spite of over 100 bands playing at JunoFest ’09 at almost 20 different venues, I knew the Arkells were the one show I couldn’t afford to miss.

Edging my way to the front at The Roxy was no easy task. News of the Arkells playing such an intimate venue in Vancouver had spread and renowned Toronto concert photographer Pete Nema and certain Battlestar Galactica stars were already in attendance. On a small stage, it’s tough to make a big entrance but it didn’t take long for the band and Max Kerman’s charisma to get the audience warmed up. By the time they played “John Lennon”, the fans who knew the words were already singing along and when “Deadlines” was blasting out of their amps, they were screaming for more. Kerman and I shared a total bromance moment belting the second chorus at each other: “And those fucking Europeans who vacation from September / They ain’t in their right minds.” I never get this worked up talking about another dude, but I guess you had to be there. (Pete Nema understands. You should too.)

But the finale of “Oh, the Boss is Coming!” was absolute insanity. Max would run up to fellow guitarist Mike DeAngelis and duel instruments, while Tim Oxford on drums was like a metronome on every fucking mind-altering drug on the planet. Next thing I knew, Kerman’s mic stand had fallen to the ground. Looking for another mic to sing into, music still pounding, Kerman hijacks DeAngelis’ microphone and all seems well. Crowd still screaming, energy still rising; Kerman’s rockin’ out, jumping back and forth on the narrow stage when he suddenly trips on his fallen stand and nearly faceplants into the floor. But not a beat is missed and Kerman finds another mic just as the final chorus blasts through the room: “There’s no room for error / So beware / When your ass is on the line.”

No really, you had to be there. You should have been there. I’m getting goosebumps just writing about it. And that’s the story of how you missed the best fucking show of JunoFest 2009.

Click the link to see a photo gallery of Arkells @ JunoFest '09!