The Flatliners, Single Mothers and Solids – it might as well be called “The Canadian Invasion Tour”, with the venerable headliners from Ontario joined by two of today’s most promising Canadian acts. The only problem is that, as with any invasion, you need to cross a boarder, and border crossings can be tricky when you’re traveling with a trailer full of gear and boxes full of merch.

While the upstarts in Single Mothers and Solids were able to fight their way through the vaunted forces from US Customers And Border Protection, The Flatliners weren’t so lucky. Defeated, they turned back and didn’t make it to Boston, chalking it up to “immigration issues”. While headliners aren’t normally “subject to change”, the show went on.

Some (like myself) were concerned this wouldn’t be much of a show without the act that everyone had come to see, but Solids and Single Mothers both eviscerated any doubts that they weren’t up to the task of carrying the night all by themselves.

Solids were the first of the duo to take the stage. The Quebec two-piece called to mind every other two-piece you can think of, especially Canadian ones like Death From Above 1979 and Japandroids. That’s not because they sounded much like either of those bands, but because I’m into making lazy comparisons.

Solids were actually quite a bit more melodic and less chaotic than anything DFA1979 have ever done, with guitarist Xavier Germain Poitras and drummer Louis Guillemette harmonizing on just about every chorus. Their songs were  on the longer end of the spectrum – sometimes stretching out to five minutes in length and allowing Guillemette to show off his considerable skills behind the kit. The band had brought their own lighting – which made them glow like construction workers toiling away under heavy floodlights on a late-night highway project.

Single Mothers were up next. I had listened to them quite a bit leading up to the show, and thought of them as similar to PUP, another Canadian buzz band with only one full length album. The only difference is that  Single Mothers have way less pop sensibility and way more bratty aggression.

Lazy Canadian comparisons aside, I had no inkling of the furry they were about to unleash on the unsuspecting masses (i.e. the 40 or so people gathered to watch the show).

When vocalist Drew Thompson stepped on stage, my first thought was “wow, he looks like a hockey player.” It was probably the scruffy playoff beard and missing teeth. He threw off a casual Charles Manson vibe during the set, with the  unsettling stare he gave the crowd between songs and the fact that he seemed to be absolutely bat-shit crazy.

Thompson checked every item off the “ways to tell your vocalist is nuts” list –licking the mic chord, shoving the mic in his mouth, and gyrating like a risqué Elvis. At one point Thompson did a barrel roll over the monitors and onto the floor in the middle of a song. He followed that by sprinting back towards the stage, rolling over the monitor again, landing on his back, and continuing to sing.

Thompson wasn’t the only one showing little regard for his  physical safety. Guitarist Micheal Peterson bounced up and down, often soloing while holding his guitar triumphantly upright as if he was playing the Super Bowl halftime show. Thompson at one point noted that Peterson  had an ankle so severely sprained he needed crutches to get to the stage.

And while you never would have known Peterson was playing hurt, you also never would have known that Single Mothers were moonlighting as headliners when they were supposed to be the support act. The completely controlled the stage, and convinced the audience they are Canada’s next great punk band. Next time they’re back in Boston, I doubt they’ll need anyone to drop off the bill to get the top spot.