Simple Plan kicks off the Canadian leg of its tour in London, Ont. on Nov. 17 and hits Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Halifax before wrapping up on Nov. 23 in the city where it all started for the band, Montreal.
Pierre Bouvier, Jeff Stinco, Sébastien Lefebvre, David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau have spent one-third of the year on the road. They recently returned from Australia and will follow their Canadian tour with concerts throughout South America.
Montreal, though, will always be home.
“We’re not there as often as we would like,” Comeau told iHeartRadio.ca before a show in Detroit.
“We grew up there, our families are there, and having a hometown show is always next level — it’s huge, it’s fun, it’s stressful, but it’s great.”
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Comeau admitted he finds it more nerve-racking to play in Montreal than anywhere else.
“If my parents are there or my wife is there I get more nervous about that than I would if it’s just fans. It feels like there’s somebody there that can give me their comments afterwards,” he said.
Playing at home also comes with the demands of giving interviews, supporting the band’s eponymous foundation, and greeting friends and family. But Comeau isn’t complaining.
“It’s the best. We have so much fun. Playing the Bell Centre is like our favourite place in the world to play,” he said. “There’s always some really magical moment that happens.”
Having released five albums since 2002, including this year’s Taking One for the Team, Simple Plan has plenty of material to choose from for its live shows.
Comeau said the band has done its best to come up with set lists that will satisfy fans old and new.
“It’s become sort of a greatest hits set list with obviously some new stuff as well,” he explained, “but we try to find the right balance between the nostalgia that a lot of our fans have for the first and second records and also playing songs from Get Your Heart On — where we had lots of airplay singles that people want to hear — then try to find a few more obscure songs that the hardcore fans love.
“The trademark of our live performances is high energy and just going out there and having fun and making sure the kids are smiling and laughing and having a great time. It’s like a party.”
Comeau said Simple Plan has always put fans first. “If they’re going to take their hard-earned money and come spend money on a Simple Plan show we want to make sure that they walk away feeling like, man, this was the best night. That’s really the goal.”
What’s life like on the road? iHeartRadio.ca gave Comeau a chance to throw his bandmates under the (tour) bus.
Who’s the messiest?
“I think it’s a tie between David and Jeff. Jeff likes to spread out. He likes to put his case on one couch and his guitar on the other couch and his suitcase on the other one so he occupies about 80 per cent of the tour bus with all his stuff.
“And then David, it’s contained in his bunk where he sleeps but it’s like his suitcase explodes every night. I look at his bunk and it’s like there’s no way he can ever sleep in that. Somehow he finds a way.”
Who’s always late?
“We used to have a lot of lateness in the band and then we came up with this amazing rule: If you’re one minute late, it’s $5 and every five minutes, it’s five more dollars. Until you hit 30 minutes and then we leave you there and you’ve got to make your own way to the show.
“That has drastically reduced the number of people being late. I’ve got to say we’re pretty punctual now.”
Who’s the pickiest eater?
“I would say me. The band likes to make fun of me and say I’m a little snobby when it comes to eating. I’m definitely a little high maintenance. I will admit to that. I do because my mom is an amazing cook. So I value my food. I treat this body like a temple, you know what I’m saying, you’ve got to be careful what you put in it.
“David has become a vegan so that makes it even harder than me to find food on the road because it’s not always easy to find vegan restaurants and vegan meals. I would say it’s a tie between me and David.”
Who snores the loudest?
“It’s our crew, not the band. The band is pretty good like that. But the crew are terrible. Our light guy, our sound guy, our tour manager — they’re all pretty bad.
“You’ve got to wear earplugs on the bus.”
In part two of his iHeartRadio.ca interview, Comeau talks about Simple Plan’s longevity and how fatherhood has changed members of the band.
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