Arkells play their first Tiny Show in Kingston

[Virginia Meeks was at a small venue in Kingston called The Broom Factory. Arkells were there, too. – AC]

Once upon a time in a Tiny Room there was a not so tiny band. 

“Wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch”, one of Canada’s biggest names took to the 200 capacity Broom Factory venue in Kingston, Ontario on Feb 26 – kicking off their rehashed approach to touring as they take the “Between Us Era Tour” across Europe, the US & Canada.

Now when I say rehashed, hear me out. From playing notably large places like the Calgary Stampede to their own massive Rally, a 200 capacity venue reached a queue of 5000 on the wait list pretty fast. “A tiny room, Real life connection” they said, and it was.

The doors promptly opened at 7:30pm with a line-up of fans around the building. The anticipation built as guests quickly took to the front of the stage to claim their spot. 

But there was a catch you see, near the middle of the room was a carpet, two guitars, a mic stand and a rack of playbills. 

While the crowd anticipated a long wait of an hour standing before the show – an opener emerged. Suddenly surrounded in a circle it was quick to realize the special guest? None other than frontman Max Kerman himself and guitarist/harmonist Mike DeAngelis of the Arkells. 

They had prepared an intimate set of acoustic songs to play direct from the request line. Making it one of the most memorable opening sets in a show. 

A few songs later, the mini stage was taken down and we knew it was wait for go time now. As the room filled to the brim with audience members like a sardine can, everyone got a treat as they played new songs from the upcoming album as house music.

8:30 came around and the sound of a train rolling in filled the room, the flashing red lights got faster and faster as the intro intensified and eventually the guys took the stage, with cheers from the crowd hitting harder than any previous Broom Factory show.

They came out swinging, playing “Next Summer” live for the very first time, intermingling past albums with their new album front to back, their curated set list for a 2 hour show was nothing less than spectacular, as expected. 

From cheeky moments with lights, Max coming into the crowd and bubbles flying everywhere, Max’s stage and crowd presence only seems to be getting better as he fully embraced “Real Life Connection.”

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more upcoming Arkells “Tiny Rooms” shows as they promise this is just the beginning.