TORONTO — If Sum 41 was looking to go out in a blaze of glory, frontman Deryck Whibley set that plan into action from the outset on Thursday as his band wrapped up their farewell tour in Toronto.
The Ajax, Ont.-founded rock act brought the flames, the fury and, in Whibley's case, the filthy mouth you'd expect from a seasoned rock veteran who still draws on his teenage punk attitude with relative ease.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ... crazy," the 44-year-old demanded early on, firing off one of the countless f-bombs that coloured the night at Scotiabank Arena.
"We've got a whole range of emotions to go through together."
From there, he and his Sum 41 bandmates raced through their catalogue of hits, including "Motivation," "Fat Lip" and "In Too Deep" from their breakout 2001 album "All Killer No Filler."
They also performed singles from their other records, a few deep cuts and one unreleased fan favourite during the two-hour set.
But the range of emotions Whibley promised rarely strayed too deep into sentimentality.
After singing one of Sum 41's few ballads, Whibley brushed it off, suggesting to the crowd he was pleased to get it out of the way. Another upbeat song didn't seem to sit well with him either.
"No more smiles, no more happiness," he urged at one point.
"Let's get tough, let's get angry."
And so the party mostly lingered in the realm of rage celebration as a seemingly bottomless flow of confetti, streamers and pyrotechnics added fuel to the proceedings.
An inflatable skeleton rose from the back of the stage making Sum 41's famed "4-1" symbol with its bony fingers.
Throughout it all, Whibley played musical conductor.
Dressed in black skinny jeans, and a cut-off T-shirt of American punk band Misfits, he waved his arms while encouraging everyone to sing. He divided the room to test their energy levels and goaded fans near the stage to join a mosh pit.
"Nobody's getting hurt, right?" he asked the thrashers.
"You're all looking out for each other," he added. "We must be in Canada."
Sum 41 has crossed the country over the past several weeks on the final leg of Tour of the Setting Sum. The world tour launched early last year and had dates that stretched across North America, Asia and Europe.
The realization that the end was near seemed to set in as Whibley moved through their usual setlist.
He thanked his fans more often, blew a kiss to one crowdsurfer and eventually abandoned his semi-scripted banter to take in the fading moment.
"Turn up the lights," he commanded, seeming to get choked up.
"I don't want to forget this night. I want to take this in, I want to soak this up."
After Sum 41 finished their usual encore, the lights stayed dim as the audience called for one last return to the stage.
Staying true to the night, Whibley selected the sentimental "So Long Goodbye" from their 2007 album "Underclass Hero," before overshadowing its heartfelt lyrics with the roaring metal track "Welcome to Hell."
As the lights came up, and the crowd exited the venue, one final song played over the sound system: Frank Sinatra's "My Way."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025.
David Friend, The Canadian Press