Sum 41 goes out on top at sold-out Milwaukee stop of farewell tour at the Rave

Is anyone actually buying the “farewell” that Sum 41 is selling?

OK, sure, a lot of people are literally buying it. The Canadian pop-punk veterans’ “Tour of the Setting Sum” farewell run came to the Rave’s Eagles Ballroom Saturday for one of the first stops, and the 3,500-person capacity venue was a sellout.

But let’s do the math. No one in Sum 41 is over 50. The Mötley Crüe guys are headlining Summerfest this June after bringing a “farewell tour” to the Big Gig a decade ago, and an 81-year-old Barry Manilow will play a final Milwaukee show at Fiserv Forum in August nine years after he seemingly played a final Milwaukee show.

It's hard to accept that Sum 41 is really leaving all of this behind, especially right now. Pop-punk is fueling a new generation of rising stars. Blink-182's classic lineup is back (and playing Fiserv Forum August 7), Green Day is headlining stadiums (including American Family Field Aug. 24), and Milwaukee will host not one but two Warped Tour-style festivals this summer: Sad Summer Festival at the Rave, and the Not Just a Phase Fest at Franklin Field.

But if the Eagles Ballroom show was really Milwaukee's last chance to see Sum 41, they showed they're going out at the top of their game.

This amped-up capacity crowd hardly needed any motivation, but Sum 41 kicked off their hour-and-45-minute set with "Motivation" anyway, the first song off first album "All Killer No Filler" from 2001, with wired frontman Deryck Whibley cruising the stage while lasers and lighting worked overtime. In a delightful detour from the recording, guitarists Dave Baksh and Tom Thacker, drummer Frank Zummo and bassist Jason McCaslin offered a dense and tense instrumental thrash break, the band's distinctive, metal-flexing tendencies later getting a full workout for 2004's "We're All To Blame."

From "Motivation" Sum 41 segued into "The Hell Song" from 2002 sophomore album "Does This Look Infected?," with Whibley heating up the crowd with a breathless, 15-second vocal note, followed by Baksh's gnarly guitar solo, adding gas to the flames. The momentum continued with another "Infected" track, "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)" — the crowdsurfing and circle pits intensifying as smoke and confetti were added to the effects arsenal — followed by 2004's "No Reason," where Zummo really let his drum assaults rip.

The 2007 anthem "Underclass Hero" came right after, with oversized balloons bouncing atop jumping bodies in the pit — and Whibley popping a few with the tail end of his handheld mic. The band's cacophonous sound silenced so the fans could triumphantly belt out the final chorus alone: "'Cause we won't give you control/And we don't need anything from you."

During "Hero" Whibley rightly suggested this night wasn't just a celebration of Sum 41's nearly 30-year run but also "a celebration of yourselves." The crowd's passion matched the band's Saturday and was more powerful than all of the production's bells and whistles.

When the band started 2007's "Walking Disaster," the lights on the phones were so bright, the stage lights stayed off and the band was still fully illuminated. Even after Whibley suggested everyone needed to take a breather after an intense first 23 minutes, followed by the comparatively slower 2004 song "Some Say," some fans still couldn't resist moshing before the end. And "Dopamine," "Landmines" and "Rise Up" from the four-week-old "Heaven :x: Hell" album received boisterous singalongs typically reserved for longtime setlist standards. (It helps that those tracks are as invigorating as anything from across Sum 41's catalogue.)

When the most prized setlist standards did actually come near the end — "Fat Lip" accompanied by a storm of confetti, an equally electric "Still Waiting" initially sans any fancy stage enhancements — the crowd really went wild. Their biggest hit "In Too Deep" was a deeply satisfying finale — except it turned out it really wasn't the end.

Two minutes after the house lights came on, the outro music played on the speakers and about half of the crowd had left, Whibley and Thacker came back on stage — prompting fans at the staircases to sprint back to the ballroom floor. And as Thacker gently played keys, Whibley offered a sweet and calm farewell in the form of 2007's "So Long Goodbye" — with Baksh, McCaslin and Zummo coming out after a few minutes to give the song an adrenaline-pumping speed punk finish.

It was probably the best moment from a night full of memorable ones. But there was one moment fans definitely didn’t like: when Whibley referred to “Heaven :x: Hell” as the band’s final album, prompting a roar of booing.

“Ladies and gentlemen," Whibley replied cooly, "I can’t get enough of your boos."

Call it denial if you want, but a comment like that, combined with a show like this one, makes me firmly believe that Sum 41's "farewell" isn't going to stick. And the fans, clearly, would be just fine with that.

5 takeaways from Sum 41's Milwaukee concert, including openers the Interrupters and Joey Valence & Brae

• As people walked into the show they were given yellow pieces of paper that read “No Moshing.” Naturally this crowd didn’t comply, especially with Whibley demanding a mosh circle open up just two songs into the set. But shortly after that he also told people to be safe and look after each other, and by the look of things from the balcony, the crowd complied in that regard.

• At one point Whibley said he was bringing out a special guest, which turned out to be a guitar he's named "White Gold." It's a guitar that recently joined his collection, but it was actually used in the recording of one of his favorite albums by one of his favorite bands, 1996's "White Light, White Heat, White Trash" by Social Distortion. In their honor, Whibley played White Gold for a cover of "Ring of Fire" in the mode of Social Distortion's signature cover. (Social Distortion, by the way, is heading to the Rave's Eagles Ballroom with Bad Religion on May 14.)

• Sum 41 offered one other cover Saturday, of Queen's "We Will Rock You," initially distinguished by Thacker's speedy showboating on guitar — until Whibley guided the crowd to get quiet and crouch down before the climax, with the band's sound and fans (literally) rising up together for a mosh-friendly finale.

• Primary opener the Interrupters were essentially motivational speakers set to ska music, with the always-moving Aimee Allen, with a Joan Jett-style snarl, singing about not being pushed aside for “Take Back The Power,” living “like a warrior” on “Title Holder,” and being “easy on yourself” for “Easy on You.” She even offered gratitude for her heartbreak on “Afterthought.” The energy and uplift easily won over the Sum 41 fans, but just to make sure they had their full support, the Interrupters also offered a trombone-blaring cover of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” and a bit of “Blister in the Sun” in honor of Milwaukee rock heroes the Violent Femmes.

• Joey Valence & Brae kicked off the night with a blast from the past, with originals like “Crank It Up,” “Drop!!” and “Punk Tactics” that are blatant rip-offs of Beastie Boys, but still pretty fun live. And the duo’s more hyperpop-leaning “Gumdrop” illustrated where they could take their act next.

Sum 41's Eagles Ballroom setlist

1. "Motivation"

2. "The Hell Song"

3. "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)"

4. "No Reason"

5. "Underclass Hero"

6. "Some Say"

7. "Landmines"

8. "Dopamine"

9. "We're All To Blame"

10. "Walking Disaster"

11. "With Me"

12. "Makes No Difference"

13. "My Direction"/"No Brains"/"All Messed Up"

14. "Preparasi a salire"

15. "Rise Up"

16. "We Will Rock You" (Queen cover)

17. "Ring of Fire" (cover of song popularized by Johnny Cash)

18. "Pieces"

19. "Fat Lip"

20. "Still Waiting"

21. "Summer"

22. "Waiting On a Twist of Fate"

23. "In Too Deep"

24. "So Long Goodbye"

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sum 41 goes out on top at sold-out Milwaukee stop of farewell tour