Running Wild in the Streets of Kitchener Helix Rocks Elements Night Club

On June 28 2025, Helix returned to Kitchener for what was billed as a Retirement Tour stop, but nothing about it felt like the end. Instead, it was a fierce celebration of survival, a statement that while decades have passed, the band’s fire still burns hotter than ever, refusing to fade quietly into the night.

Doors opened at 7. The Canada Day long weekend made for a slow trickle of fans, but by the time Helix hit the stage, after Howzat and a slightly extended set from Enuff Z’Nuff, the crowd was loud, loyal, and locked in. These weren’t just folks out for a night of live music, they were here for this band, this night, and what might be one of the last times to see Helix do what they do best: command a stage like they never stopped chasing the flame.

Helix is 51 years old now. Tonight, Brian Vollmer turned 70. You wouldn’t have guessed it. His voice tore through Running Wild in the 21st Century like he was still walking the razor’s edge. The band’s opening film reel, grainy VHS snippets of a younger, hungrier Helix, faded out just as the first chords dropped, setting the tone for a night that refused to rest on legacy and instead demanded your attention, right here, right now.

Stand Up, a newer cut from the band, arrived like a gut-check, less a throwback and more a middle finger to resignation. With lyrics that rallied against complacency and called for grit through hardship, it felt ripped from the marrow of the band’s own story: fifty years in, still swinging, still standing. “Life ain’t so easy when you’re burned to the bone,” Brian sang, not as a warning, but as proof.

Before Helix took the stage, London’s HOWZAT made sure the amps were already smoking. Gritty, aggressive, politically aware, they’ve got a sound like a saw blade through steel. Even a mid-set gear issue couldn’t derail them. Their latest single, Revolution, felt aptly named. No theatrics, just muscle and message. College radio may have given them their start, but they played like a band gunning for a breakout.

Then came Enuff Z’Nuff, all glitter and grit. With Chip Z’Nuff leading the charge, they delivered a swagger-heavy set that blurred glam, psych-pop, and hard rock into something that shouldn’t work in 2025, but absolutely does. Harmonies floated. Solos screamed. With their new album Extra Cherries on the horizon, the band looked anything but finished. Songs like Fly High Michelle and With a Little Help From My Friends felt timeless, not dated, like neon soaked in gasoline.

When Helix finally emerged at 10:15, the temperature in the room shifted. What followed was a masterclass in Canadian hard rock. When the Hammer Falls. Heavy Metal Love. Rock You. Every riff landed like a nail gun. But there was more beneath the volume, grief, pride, memory. Brian spoke of Greg “Fritz” Hinz, their late drummer. He invoked Paul Hackman, long gone but never absent. And in the music, there were shadows of all the others who helped shape the sound, brothers in the long, loud march of Helix history.

Special guests joined the fray. Brent “The Doctor” Doerner, whose guitar tone helped define Helix’s golden era, took the stage for two tracks: That Day Is Gonna Come and Dirty Dog. For the latter, he was joined by Kaleb “Duckman” Duck, a younger flame-thrower who kept the shred torch burning bright. Together, they lit the room on fire.

Midway through the set, the band paused and one of the members stepped up to the mic, inviting the crowd to join them in singing “Happy Birthday” to Brian Vollmer. It was a moment that had to happen. The room filled with voices, off-key, sincere, a little rowdy, the kind of tribute you don’t rehearse, and wouldn’t want to. Later, Heavy Metal Cowboys brought the encore crashing home, and as the lights came up, Vollmer reminded everyone where to find him next: not behind a velvet rope, but at the merch table. No VIP fences. No green room mystery. Just a working band saying thank you the only way they know how, face to face.

There were empty spots in the room that should’ve been full. It’s easy to complain about turnout. But those who were there? They’ll talk about this one like legend. Because Helix didn’t mail it in. They never have. Retirement or not, this was a night that carved itself into the bones of the city.

Fifty years. Two fallen brothers. One final hometown blowout. And one question ringing in our ears as the amps cooled:

Was this goodbye? Or just one more chapter?

Helix

Enuff Znuff

Howzat

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Drew Osborne

I’m Drew, the founder and editor of Front of the Stage. I have a strong love for music and photography, which started at a very young age. There’s just something I love about experiencing live music and capturing memories that will last a lifetime, and that’s how Front of the Stage came to be.