Arkells, with Lord Huron

At Scotiabank Arena, Feb. 16.

Arkells, with Lord Huron

At Scotiabank Arena, Saturday, Feb. 16.

Why Arkells, you might ask? Why not?

The Hamilton-hatched quintet has never been shy about giving people a good time, nor about “going for it” in both the performance and music-industry senses of the phrase. And that, in short, is why the Arkells sold out the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on a Saturday night this weekend and sent 15,000 people home completely satisfied and not a little giddy that their boys the Arkells are capable of holdin’ it down so very, very well on a big stage. They gave people an unapologetic good time, they went for it and they won. Again.

Arkells really do hold it down very well on a big stage. Very, very well. This cannot be overstated. A lot of indie-to-mainstream graduates can look a bit lost when larger venues beckon — I love Metric, for instance, but I walked out of its last headlining show at the former Air Canada Centre because I couldn’t deal with the band’s inability to connect with the room — but this has never been a problem for the Arkells. They’ve just kept confidently rising to the occasions and planning ahead for bigger and better things. Indeed, they have a bit of practice with larger venues, having previously gone for it (and won) by booking themselves a stadium show in Hamilton at Tim Horton’s Field last June and successfully drawing nearly 25,000 fans to the biggest show to hit the Hammer since Pink Floyd passed through Steeltown in 1975. Arkells know what they’re doing.

That was evident on Saturday night in Toronto, anyway. The cool kids might have abandoned Arkells since they abandoned their early Constantines infatuation for the arena-baiting anthemics of 2016’s Morning Report and last year’s stadium-savvy Rally Cry, but there’s absolutely no denying what a terrific show they’re currently capable of putting on for the rest of us. Saturday’s Scotiabank Arena performance was utterly pro. It felt like the Arkells — bolstered for the occasion by the four-piece Northern Soul Horns, three backup singers and some judiciously deployed pyro and confetti — had been playing arenas forever. And, hey, at this rate, they might wind up doing just that.

Credit for much of the Arkells’ big-room reach goes to frontman Max Kerman, who’s lately parlayed his good looks and abundant charm into a TV spot on CTV’s The Launch and has enough Bublé in him that Vegas might eventually come beckoning. Clad in a technicolor-frilled blazer and spending much of the evening atop a proscenium extending into the arena floor, he worked the rink like a career politician on Saturday. At one point, he wandered into the stands to hand out “doctor’s notes” to fans unfortunate enough to be working hungover on Sunday morning and to lead the crowd in a “Happy Birthday” singalong for a young female fan — there are a lot of young female fans of Max Kerman, by the way — who might have been named Aidan for so long that you forgot the Arkells were still only about two-thirds of the way though “Eyes on the Prize” that you forgot there was an actual song in progress.

Which brings me to the next point: yes, Kerman is a rock star, but he’d be nothing without the faultless live unit — bassist Nick Dika, guitarist Mike DeAngelis, drummer Tim Oxford and keyboardist (and sometime oversized “keytar”-ist) Tony Carone — making it all happen. Through all the bells and whistles and distractions that have come with this Arkells arena tour, the band is rock solid and abundantly versatile. Whatever you might think of the knowing CanCon white-soul appropriations of a tune like “People’s Champ,” Arkells nail that neo-R&B swing as capably as they do a knowing Born in the U.S.A. knock-off like “Hand Me Downs,” an equally knowing frat-boy party jam like “Private School” or the totally knowing fists-in-the-air chug of a sports-channel rouser like “Knocking at the Door.” You get me? Arkells know what they’re doing and they’re really, really good at it and people freakin’ love it. The entire Scotiabank Arena was on its feet and throwin’ down and gettin’ messy in admirably cross-generational fashion on Saturday night for a full two hours.

Meanwhile, Arkells? So totally unburdened by the need to be cool that they encored with an all-in version of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” on Saturday. That’s right: “Dancing Queen.” Confetti blasting everywhere. ABBA. Y’all can pretend you’re above that stuff, but I’m not. I’m human. Arkells are human. They’re going for it, they’re winning and I have absolutely no problem with it.