Billy Talent Surprise As Opener At Alexisonfire Club Show

Fans who managed to score tickets to Alexisonfire's Thursday night show at Toronto's Reverb, the first of six sold-out gigs in the city, were treated to an extra special surprise guest. They had the pleasure of experiencing not one, but two of the biggest bands in Canada in a very intimate setting.

Many speculated as to who the "special guest" was going to be. To the surprise of just about everybody in the venue, hometown boys Billy Talent ran onto the stage for an impromptu set, playing a number of hits for the couple hundred lucky fans in attendance.

Amid the opening riffs of "Devil In A Midnight Mass," Billy Talent frontman Ben Kowalewicz greeted the audience with a mischievous "Hello!" before launching his trademark scream. Once the song kicked in and attendees realized what exactly was going on, the room erupted in a frenzy.

The band played a short set with a surprisingly low amount of banter from the usually outspoken singer, but it was more than enough to get everyone psyched before the headliners came on. Current single "Fallen Leaves" and crowd favourite "This Is How It Goes" got just about everybody throwing their fists in the air, but the quartet seemed to understand that it wasn't their show and tried to appear demure.

Of course, even a low profile Kowalewicz still slams his mic stand into the stage and jumps into the crowd at every opportunity. Going from clubs to arenas clearly hasn't dulled the group's live intensity as the energy both onstage and in the crowd was crackling. No band member appeared to stay still for more than five seconds, and fans moshed energetically for the entire duration of the performance.

"We haven't played here in more than three years," the frontman admitted.

Though Billy Talent are an arena-worthy band in Canada now, they proved they still have the fire and enthusiasm that made them so popular in clubs in the first place. Even more stoic members of the audience who tried to appear unsurprised and uninterested were singing along by the end of the set. Closing with "Red Flag," Billy Talent departed the stage nearly as quickly as they came, leaving those in attendance completely dumbfounded and, judging by the amount of sweat-drenched fans, unquestionably satisfied.

Here are Alexisonfire's Canadian dates:

Dec. 15 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
Dec. 16 Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
Dec. 17 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
Dec. 18 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
Dec. 19 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus

These are Billy Talent's Canadian dates:

Jan. 18 Victoria, BC @ Save On Foods Memorial Arena
Jan. 19 Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
Jan. 21 Kelowna, BC @ Prespera Place
Jan. 23 Lethbridge, AB @ Enmax
Jan. 24 Calgary, AB @ Calgary Saddledome
Jan. 25 Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Centre
Jan. 27 Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
Jan. 29 Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Feb. 2 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
Feb. 3 Ottawa, ON @ Civic Centre
Feb. 5 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Feb. 6 Quebec City, QC @ Colisee Pepsi Arena
Feb. 8 London, ON @ John Labatt Centre