At Pacific Coliseum on Thursday, March 14

To hell with maturity. It’s been more than a decade since the dudes from Billy Talent and Sum 41 conquered Canadian radio, but their latest Vancouver appearance offered everything you would have expected had this show taken place a decade earlier. From palm-muted power chords to copious profanity to some truly ridiculous hairstyles, these 30-something-year-old guys were clearly in no hurry to grow up. Naturally, this was conducive to a gleefully energized punk-rock party.

This was the inaugural night of the groups’ collaborative national tour, and opener Indian Handcrafts appeared to be experiencing some first-show jitters, with drummer Brandyn James Aikins confessing, “I’m a little nervous.” The Pacific Coliseum was still mostly empty for the 7 p.m. start time, and the pair’s sludgy blues-rawk riffs and dual vocal shrieks didn’t do much to raise the mood in the room.

Next up was Hollerado and, unlike the prior act, the four-piece was brimming with confidence and charisma from the get-go. The band had only been on-stage for a matter of seconds before singer Menno Versteeg climbed atop the kick drum and he and his sidemen executed a series of synchronized, underwear-exposing jumps. This led into a selection of hooky power-pop cuts, every one of which brimmed with soaring choruses and good-natured charm.

This was Hollerado’s first-ever arena show, and Versteeg thanked the crowd for “devirginizing us”. Based on their performance, anyone would have guessed that they had been doing this for years.

Between bands, the house PA played a selection of classic-rock radio hits by the likes of Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, and the Ramones. A massive Sum 41 banner was hung at the back of the stage and the house lights went down, but the crowd had to sit through most of AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” before the band made its way to the front.

After this initial delay, Sum 41 didn’t waste any time in revisiting its early ’00s hits, opening the set with “The Hell Song” and “Motivation” in quick succession. Pink-haired frontman Deryck Whibley gripped the microphone tightly whenever he wasn’t slashing out power chords, and he hyped up onlookers by asking “Are you ready to have some fucking fun, goddammit?”

This foul-mouthed coaxing had its desired effect on the fans, who crushed together, crowd-surfed, and pumped their fists along with every word. The arena was at a little below capacity, but this didn’t do anything to diminish the energy of the throng.

At times, the band ventured into metal-tinged heaviness, and the lively set even included a scorching punk cover of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”. Wisely, Whibley and company saved their best for last, closing with the bouncy breakthrough hit “Fat Lip”.

Before Billy Talent began, a huge black curtain was drawn up at the front of the stage. Initially, only singer Benjamin Kowalewicz and guitarist Ian D’Sa were visible, and they serenaded the arena with “Lonely Road to Absolution”, the short intro track from last year’s Dead Silence. It wasn’t long before the curtain dropped and bassist Jonathan Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk joined in for “Viking Death March”. This was followed by a string of cuts that ventured into angst-filled punk, adrenalized alt-rock, and tightly wound hardcore.

The floppy-haired Kowalewicz was dripping with sweat within moments of arriving on-stage, and he spent much of the set—which was just shy of an hour and a half long—screaming bloody murder while crouched over a stage monitor like a gargoyle. Even his between-song thank-yous were shrill and manic, although he calmed down for long enough to patriotically dedicate “Rusted From the Rain” to the recently deceased Stompin’ Tom Connors.

During the speedy “Man Alive!”, the frontman showed off dance moves that resembled a curious hybrid of the twist and an Iggy Pop–style wiggle. He was by far the most magnetic musician of the bunch, although the screens on either side of the stage offered the audience a chance to admire D’Sa’s comically gravity-defying hairdo.

During a late-set rendition of the hit “Try Honesty”, the band played an extended instrumental bridge while Kowalewicz explained that this summer will mark the band’s 20th anniversary and added, “Thank you for believing in the power of rock ’n’ roll music.” The crowd’s feverish response to these comments proved that, after two full decades in the business, Billy Talent is as good as ever at provoking a rowdy mosh pit.