Sum 41 (Zepp Tokyo)

Deryck Whibley and pals were originally supposed to be touring Japan at the same time as his ex-wife, Avril Lavigne. But while Ms. Skater Girl ended up postponing her arena tour 'out of respect' (er... whatever), Sum 41 have taken the opposite approach: not only are they coming, they've stuck fast to their original plan to include Sendai on their itinerary, even if they had to delay the scheduled gig by a day over transport concerns. Either way, it just goes to show that you can't keep a good punk down. It's been a decade since the Ontario rockers released their debut album, the aptly titled All Killer No Filler, which explains why this is being advertised as a '10th anniversary tour' (they've actually been at it since 1996, but never mind). The band continue to enjoy a fervent following in Japan: new album Screaming Bloody Murder charted higher when it was released here last month than it managed even in Canada.

Sum 41 also play at Studio Coast on May 27.