When November 30th's Three Days Grace show was moved from the Saddledome to the Corral it was listed as being "due to unforseen circumstances." The empty seats at the Corral may have been a clue as to what those circumstances were.

It is strange if lack of ticket sales is the reason for the move. The band has always done well in Calgary, and in fact have sold out the Corral twice before. Maybe it was because they have played three times in recent years that there wasn't the interest. With a fantastic new album out, promises of a bigger and better show, and continued growth of the band, one would think that fans of the band would have flocked to the show.

The night started out with long time Canadian rockers Default. Always an entertaining live show, they were a good fit with Three Days Grace and had the audience who had come early enough to see them singing along to hits like Deny and Wasting My Time. Less pleasant was second band The Used. The Orem, Utah based band seemed to have quite a few fans in the audience who thrust their fists in the air and moshed. Singer Bert McCracken gets the award for awkwardest and strangest "rock star" comment I have heard when he looked into the audience and declared "I can smell those tits from here." Weird dude, seriously weird.

Three Days Grace hit the stage as if determined to show Calgary what people were missing, kicking off the show with their new single Break from Life Starts Now followed by The Good Life, also from the current album, and Pain from 2007's One-X.

Three Days Grace have matured into a polished arena rock show, including an impressive light display and bursts of fire that heated up the Corral. Lead singer Adam Gontier connects with the audience both lyrically and with his presentation on stage. He encouraged the fans in the stands to stand up and sing along with those on the floor and proved that he has the charisma to keep fans interested.

Another highlight was drummer Neil Sanderson's lengthy drum and keyboard solo leading into Gontier appearing at the back of the arena on a small stage singing I Don't Care - an Apocalyptica song that he contributed vocals to.

The one downside of the show, and I make this complaint about a lot of bands, is the length. At an hour and twenty minutes, even at reasonable ticket prices by today's standards, it is far too short. Yes you get three bands but really I wasn't there to see the openers, I was there to see Three Days Grace. Hopefully this is something that changes in the future.

For another perspective, on the show held November 26th at Rexall Place in Edmonton, I turn it over to Suzanne, who won tickets through GayCalgary.com.

"The concert was fantastic! Everyone should see 3DG live, 3DG were quick to set up the stage and sounded awesome! The drummer did a solo which I found very entertaining as the upper stage that he was perched upon did a half rotation that probably lasted 5 minutes or more. Light show was great and the fire blasts timed to the music during the last bit of the concert really got the crowd going! I'd recommend everyone who loves Three Days Grace's music to check them out live...[they] sound as great in concert as they do on their cds!"

Three Days Grace has come a long way from the angry young men that exploded with 2003's song (I Hate) Everything About You. They are what fun arena rock is meant to be. It's a shame that the show was moved, even though it didn't hurt the performance and the intimacy was nice. Three Days Grace is ready to headline major arenas, so it's a shame Calgary didn't seem to think so. But for those who did attend, they learned this, and will be back to see them again.