Three Days Grace set the Essar afire (34 photos)

It's amazing what a little fire can do to get an audience into a show.

During last night's concert at the Essar Centre, headlined by Three Days Grace (3DG) with support from The Used and Default, the modest crowd of 2,000 was surprisingly subdued.

All three bands did their damnedest to spark some energy into the quiet arena.

On numerous occasions, The Used front man Bert McCracken urged the audience to start a mosh pit, resulting in sporadic 60-second outbursts of activity.

Between songs, one could almost hear crickets chirping, and SooToday.com spotted only one lone crowd surfer through the entire evening.

It was almost eerie for a hard rock/ metal show.

But then 3DG let the fire loose.

Literally.

Mid-way through its set, the band broke out some pyrotechnics the likes of which the Sault hasn't seen since Motley Crue christened the Essar Centre way back in December 2006.

That's all it took.

From that point on, fans were on their feet eagerly thrusting devil horns at the stage as they bounced to the frantic beats.

Aside from the fire, there were a few other surprises throughout the concert, including The Used breaking into a rather bizarre but amusing rendition of Billie Jean, complete with fedora and crotch-grabs, just before Bert McCracken proclaimed he didn't believe that Michael Jackson was dead.

As 3DG drummer Neil Sanderson distracted the Sault audience with a trippy synth/ drum solo, front man Adam Gontier, stealthily cloaked in a black hoodie, snuck to the back of the arena and popped up on a tiny platform situated in front of the front of house (that's techno-babble for the sound booth).

The biggest surprise of the evening, however, came when three of four members of 3DG made an appearance at Loplops Gallery-Lounge during the official after-party.

Toronto-based musician Nathan Down provided the entertainment as Neil Sanderson, Barry Stock and Brad Walst hob-nobbed with fans, signed autographs and posed for pictures.

Despite the somewhat disappointing turnout - almost half of what 3DG drew just under two years ago - the evening was likely a highlight of 2009 for those with the wherewithal to attend.