Staff Writer Raza Mirza gives a review of the Alt rock sensation Black Pontiac, who have been making a name for themselves in Vancouver’s underground music scene and now across the world with their Sick Puppy World Tour.
Black Pontiac graced The Grace on October 16 2026, making their lively London debut as part of the Sick Puppy World Tour, selling out the night with openers, Electric Enemy and Sunfish. Electric Enemy warmed up the night strong with hard hitting Heavy Rock tones and a harsh introduction to the excitement we were all in for. Sunfish followed up with powerful synths and erratic glitch grunge entrenching the audience in a truly alternative kind of rock that pushed the envelope before we even got to the main event.
As the time came, Matt Purkiss, Avery John Shoesmith and Sam and Mack Riddell took the stage hitting the audience with ‘Number One’, a triumphant rock anthem that shows the audience what they are in for with an electrifying hook. The group, hailing from Vancouver BC pushed on with the rest of the introduction from their newest album ‘A Danger to Himself and Others‘ following up with ‘Kids on Drugs’, ‘The Dare‘ and ‘Your Other Man‘. These grounded the performance with a tragic element as the exploration of the album’s themes of self harm and risk permeate through the music.
As we come to the namesake of the tour ‘Sick Puppy’, the ever enthusiastic frontman Matt encourages the audience to join in with the naturally choral parts of the song. He keeps up the rebellious zeal with his vaudevillian performance and striking poses, taking clear visual and thematic cues from the Greasers from ‘The Outsiders’. This is evident from their first EP having the same name as the main character of the film, ‘Ponyboy’.
As we move towards some of the old favourites from the group’s discography, Matt introduces himself, and the rest of the band synonymously, as Mr Pontiac. As we move back through their discography we get to ‘The Streets are Hot Tonight’ from their debut album ‘From Bad To Worse (And Back Again)‘. The dynamic upbeat blast of this album screams Alt Rock, whilst also being heavily influenced by beach and garage rock.
However, during the performance, Matt slows down to come off stage and walk through the audience. Meanwhile, the rest of the band play a quiet, moody rendition of the chorus as the audience joins in, kneeling down to follow the singer before kicking it back to 11. Following this we get the instantly iconic ‘Troublemaker’, the band’s biggest song. Purkiss’ physicality is beautifully complimented by the catchy guitar and drums from the Riddell brothers and the ever-present punchy baseline from Shoesmith.
Moving past, the band brings us back to their pandemic era beats from their early EPs like ‘I NEED PEACE BUT WAR IS FUN’, ‘Call me Lover’, and ‘The Emperor’. This set showed us their songs that kickstarted their success with a raw yet invigorating style that differs to their modern releases due to them changing producers. They switched from Darren Grahn to Matt Di Pomponio and finally Michael Kenyon. The cheers from the long-time fans were especially loud during this drive down memory lane.
As the band rounds out the night we are treated to some forgotten favourites such as the legendary ‘Soul Suicide’, a song that dramatically depicts losing value over your life for thrills. Finally, the band end off on the opening song to their first album ‘Soda Pop Rock’ until the audience drag the band back out for 2 more old favourites. The encore thus became the real grand finale with ‘Island Honey’ and ‘DBTG’.
This gig truly marked a milestone for the group as one of the last shows of their first international tour. On October 20 2026, the tour concluded in France, forcing fans overseas to ask when they will be coming back.
About the author
