Torrential downpours certainly put a "damper" on the Calgary Stampede on July 13th. Some questioned whether the band would take the stage, especially in light of the cancellation of the grandstand show and chuck wagons.

Three Days Grace did not disappoint the soggy, mud splattered fans who were patiently waiting for them. Continuing to tour in support of Life Starts Now, they opened the show with the album’s first single, Break and The Good Life, followed by Pain off their self-titled debut release.
The show was similar to their appearance at the Stampede Corral in October, minus the pyrotechnics. This is now my 8th time seeing the band, and at this point I have come to predict what to expect: a solid show with songs that I and the many others in attendance identify with. It's not boring but you know what you are getting when you see them. The crowd sang loudly to songs like Just Like You and Never Too Late. At one point singer Adam Gontier scaled the scaffolding to get a better look at the crowd, and sang I Don't Care from the audience.

He also showed his sense of humour, as towards the end of the show the crowd began chanting for their hit Riot. "I should have said this earlier but I apologize, we are not going to be able to do Riot tonight," he said to a chorus of boos before admitting he was messing with the crowd and ending the main set with it. The band returned with a cover of Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight and Animal I Have Become off album One-X.

Safety First

For years the problem of mosh pits has plagued Stampede concerts. No one would really consider bands like Eve 6, Blue October or Marianas Trench as hardcore metal, yet there are people slamming full force into each other to Lips of an Angel by Hinder. Apparently the memo that it is no longer 1992 hasn't been received.

At the start of the Three Days Grace show, a request was made not to mosh, out of respect for the many kids in the audience. This was promptly ignored and moments into the concert people were being thrashed around by those with no concern for others. Soon, police officers wormed their way through the crowd to break them up and even haul out people who continued to disrespect the request. It seemed to become a game, unfortunately, of "how long can we run into each other until we see the police coming and then pretend we weren't." You can't eliminate the problem but this is a good step in the right direction.