It has already been almost 2 weeks since Simple Plan kicked off their co-headlining ’Blame Canada’ tour across the United States with Sum 41. A lot has happened on the tour so far, so let’s have a little summary of it.

The tour kicked off in Raleigh, NC on April 29th. Since it’s a co-headlining tour, Simple Plan and Sum 41 decided to divide their ‘headlining shows’ evenly and the bands are always taking turns in being the opening act and the headlining act at each show. 

Of course, given the fact that both bands have suffered a lot with tour cancelations in the past two years due to the pandemic, many tight security measures have been introduced on this tour, such as regular testing, mask wearing and no strange people allowed backstage. But Simple Plan decided to put a little extra spin on the security & health measures: as a band known for having their drummer Chuck crowdsurf during I’m Just A Kid amongst the crowd, they did not want to just give up on this idea because of the pandemic. Instead, the idea came to them to use the extra protective measures as a punchline and dress Chuck up in a full yellow hazmat suit and a mask before surfing the crowd and later on spraying him with as much disinfectant as possible by their tour manager Danny. This, of course, makes it a rather funny moment for all the fans in the crowd and so far everyone’s been enjoying it immensely.

You can check out a video of Chuck jumping into the crowd below:

Unfortunately, despite the tightest measures, things just don’t seem to always work out. After just 4 played shows, both bands found out during the afternoon before the Silver Spring, MD show that a member of the Sum 41 crew tested positive for COVID-19, making it impossible for Sum 41 to perform. That night, Simple Plan performed the show alone and fans who came to mostly see Sum 41 were offered refunds. Given this mishap, the bands had to make the very hard decision to postpone the shows in Worcester, Ausbury Park and New York City for later August dates, since Sum 41 would not be able to perform there. This incident was all the more disappointing for Simple Plan given that on May 6th their new album ‘Harder Than It Looks’ came out and they were supposed to have a big release day show in New York City, which the band has look forward to very much. 

The tour eventually picked up on May 10th in Detroit and the two bands have been having a blast ever since.

As far as the setlist goes, the band actually seems to be switching things up a little bit at each show, so no setlist is completely the same every night. Usually, the band offers about 18 songs during the night (with the exception of the Silver Spring show, where they played without Sum 41 and where they decided to play 21 songs to make it up to the fans a little bit more, even including a Sum 41 cover of ‘In Too Deep’). From the new album, the band usually plays about 3 songs.

One new things they introduced in the Blame Canada setlist is a brand new party medley, which they perform in the second half of the show. The medley includes parts of ‘All Star’ by Smash Mouth, ‘Sk8er Boi’ by Avril Lavigne & ‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers. Check out the medley below:

Below you can find the most recent setlist we could find – for the May 10th show in Detroit:

1. I’d Do Anything
2. Shut Up!
3. Jump
4. The Worst Day Ever
5. Congratulations
6. Addicted
7. God Must Hate Me
8. Welcome To My Life
9. Wake Me Up (When This NIghtmare’s Over)
10. Crazy
11. Ruin My Life
12. Summer Paradise
13. Party medley (All Star / Sk8er Boi / Mr. Brightside)
14. What’s New Scooby Doo?
15. Where I Belong
16. I’m Just A Kid
17. Untitled
18. Perfect