My favorite thing about going to concerts in Canada (besides the concert of course) is dining at Perkins on the way to the show. Canadian bread bowl salads are the food of God. Anyhow, I digress.

We arrived in Toronto around eight o'clock because the tickets said the doors opened at eight. According to the Opera House the doors weren't until nine. After a long wait in the frigid Canadian night, we got inside and the show was about to begin.

The Cheap Suits were up first, a local Toronto band, and they played their pop-punk songs about ex-girlfriends and other things that people write songs about way too much. At one point the Suits' guitar player taught the crowd how to "skank" properly. The Cheap Suits weren't bad, but they weren't great either. Towards the end of their performance the crowd's consensus was that they would've been a lot better if they were a ska band.

Just a few moments later, the stage was setup, the lights had gone dark, and The Living End had taken the stage. They opened the show with "Save the Day" and kept pouring it on with their punk and rockabilly mix, which I will refer to as "punkabilly." They played a couple of classics off of their self-titled album, including "West End Riot" and "All Torn Down," but most of the set list was comprised of new material from their forthcoming album, Roll On. Songs like "Riot on Broadway," "(Pick Me Up off of My Knees and) Carry Me Home," and "Dirty Man" kept the crowd going while the Aussies continued to rock like only Aussies know how. The only song played off of their first two releases was "From Here on In," which got my vote as song of the night.

The Living End did not disappoint on stage either. They employed the stand-up bass to fully emphasize the punkabilly sound. Singer Chris Cheney was like a caged animal just released from his cell. He never stopped moving back and forth between the crowd, his mic, and everywhere else on the stage.

I offer one final note of advice as I draw this to a close: go buy Roll On, released March 27th. It's a great album, from a great band. Should you feel the need to see The Living End live for yourself, you can catch them at this year's Warped Tour, August 8th at LaSalle Park. Booya.