Sum 41 performs at the Warfield in San Francisco on April 27, 2018. Gary Chancer/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO — For one night, concert attendees at the Masonic were transported back to the days when the Vans Warped Tour took over Pier 30/32. There were mosh pits, crowd-surfing, hats and shoes flying and plenty of singing along as two of pop-punk’s stalwarts—Sum 41 and Simple Plan—brought their aptly named Blame Canada Tour to the Bay Area. The show was completely sold out, the pit packed and every seat was filled in the balcony; a sign that the state of pop-punk is alive and well.

The two acts from north of the border have a similar genre association but have actually taken very different paths. On this co-headlining tour, they’ve flip-flopped who plays last. In San Francisco, Sum 41 held that distinction. While the tour is meant as a celebration of the 20-year anniversaries of the bands’ debut albums, it also showcased their growth in the years that have followed.

Sum 41 has set its recent sights on having a harder-edged, metal-influenced sound.While the band left that material at home, the metal stylings actually tightened up the arrangements of older songs like “Motivation” and “The Hell Song.” The band’s backdrop was a giant inflatable bird-flipping skeleton named Bonesy.

The biggest noticeable change for Sum 41 was singer Dercyk Whibley’s emergence as a rock and roll frontman. Whibley was trending in that direction, but the performance reinforce it. Only playing guitar for a handful on songs, Whibley stalked the stage from the opening notes, establishing a commanding presence that kept the crowd engaged. His growth as a performer following much-publicized struggles with addiction has been nothing short of remarkable.

“Our debut album, All Killer, No Filler came out 21 years ago,” Whibley said. “What a great day. This feels like a birthday party.”

Rather than playing their debut albums front to back, both groups put a heavier emphasis on the older material. Sum 41 ripped through crowd-pleasers like “The Hell Song” and “Over My Head (Better Off Dead).” Whibley then introduced a trio of punk songs, each no longer than 90 seconds but as short as 30.

“One of these tracks got a lot more attention than the other two,” he said of “A.N.I.C.,” named after the late Anna Nicole Smith. He then led the boisterous crowd in an a cappella final verse of “Underclass Hero,” before strapping on an acoustic guitar for the anthemic “With Me.”

“Let’s take you back now the very first single we ever released,” Whibley said before launching into “Makes No Difference.”

The band did honor a few influences throughout the night, from AC/DC serving as the band’s walk-up song to instrumental jams of “Smoke On the Water” and “Seven Nation Army.” Sum 41 followed the latter up with a pop-punk version of “We Will Rock You.” The band closed out with a deafening crowd singalong of “Fat Lip” and “Still Waiting.”

While the band may have focused on its old stuff, Whibley did foreshadow that Sum 41’s new double album, Heaven & Hell, is just about done. It will have one album of pop-punk and one of metal.

While Sum 41 was about force and power, Simple Plan put a heavier emphasis on community and fun. The band not only celebrated the two decades following the release of No Pads, No Helmet…Just Balls, but included tracks from throughout its career.

“I can’t believe it’s been 20 yeas,” frontman Pierre Bouvier said. “I still feel like I’m that age now.”

The group showed its versatility, playing both its pop-punk standbys like “I’d Do Anything” and “The Worst Day Ever,” to poppier songs like “Summer Paradise.”

“We don’t heavy any beaches in Montreal,” Bouvier said of his hometown. “So I make all this myself.”

The emo angst of “The Worst Day Ever,” “Welcome to My Life” and “Shut Up!” has also evolved over time with the tracks now more uplifting and communal.

Simple Plan kept things light, fun and conversational throughout. At one point, guitarist Jeff Stinco showed off his six-string abilities.

“You probably listen to our songs and think ‘I could play that’—and you’re probably right,” Bouvier joked. “But Jeff  has so many more skills. We just don’t let him do it on record.”

Simple Plan embraced its newer material, playing tracks from May’s Harder Than It Looks like “Iconic” and “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over).” The band had  fun mixing in a medley of so-called party songs, including Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” and The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.”

They concluded the set with the anthemic “I’m Just a Kid” and a partially acoustic version of “Perfect.”

Bouvier spoke about being taken by surprise with “Kid” finding new life on TikTok. Drummer Chuck Comeau then put on a full hazmat suit to stage dive into the crowd during the song.

Another band finding success on TikTok was opening act Magnolia Park. The Orlando quintet packed plenty of power into its 30-minute opening set, mixing together pop-punk, hip-hop and emo.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.