Nickelback
September 1, 2009
Shoreline Amphitheater, Mt. View, CA
By Dan Wall
Nickelback Set List: Something In Your Mouth,
Because of You, Photograph, Figured You Out, Savin’ Me, Far
Away, Highway to Hell, Gotta Be Somebody, If Everyone Cared,
Friends in Low Places, If It Was Your Last Day, Rock Star, Burn
It To the Ground, How You Remind Me?, Too Bad. Encore: Animals.
1 hour, 40 minutes.
Hinder Set List: Use Me, Take It To the Limit,
Heaven Sent, Thing For You, How Long, Up All Night, Lips of an
Angel, Get Stoned. 45 minutes.
Papa Roach Set List: Between Angels and Insects,
…to be Loved, Getting Away with Murder, Hollywood Whore,
Forever, Lifeline, Scars, Last Resort. 40 minutes.
It’s amazing, but one of rock and roll’s most
hated bands, Nickelback, is one of the few acts actually selling
tickets out on the road in our current economy. With these guys,
you either love them (18,000 here in Mt. View were infatuated),
or you hate them. There is simply no in-between.
The band returned to the Bay Area for its first
major headline show in nearly seven years in early September,
and a near-capacity crowd came along for the 100-minute ride.
The band obliged the throng with all of the hits and a WWE-influenced
stage show that probably cost more than some of the group’s
early tours combined.
Now, while I don’t hate the band, I can
understand why some people have problems with it. One thing that
clearly pisses off the haters is the fact that almost every one
of the band’s ballads becomes a hit and is played one million
times on the radio; that’s hardly the bands fault, and speaks
more to the state of radio today. But the fact that Chad Kroeger
can be a bit of a tool and has pissed off more than a few people
in the business can be traced directly back to the band. It’s
funny, but most fans loved these guys on the first tour, but
when “How You Remind Me” became a summer staple on radio back in
2001, the term “sold out,” whether warranted or not, was applied
to the group, despite the fact that the selling out was
happening more in arenas than in the band’s sound.
None of this seems to have bothered the band or
its serious followers much. The band has released six records
since 2000 that have sold over 60 million copies worldwide. The
group has also put out seven #1 Modern Rock singles and eight
more Top Ten tracks in the U.S. alone. So despite this supposed
“hatred,” Nickelback has become one of biggest rock bands in the
world, and one of the biggest draws on the road.
Nickelback clearly loves and appreciates the
bands from the 70’s (a note-perfect copy of AC/DC’s “Highway to
Hell” with the opening acts went down well), and the show is a
virtual blueprint for modern rock bands that emulate the classic
bands of yesteryear. The show was louder than most people (and
dogs) can stand; the stage would have had a hard time fitting in
one of the airplane hangars down the road at Moffett Field; the
lights could have lit up a festival show in the Grand Canyon,
and needed more programmers than Bill Gates needs daily; the
video made the whole program look like the MTV video awards; and
the pyro would have pissed off Gene Simmons, because I doubt
KISS had this much pyro on its first five tours COMBINED!
Yep, Nickelback pretty much blew up, smoked out
or lit up every song, every major pop in the show and just about
any song that had a big chorus in it. During the set-closing
“Animals,” it looked like the Fourth of July had erupted on the
stage.
Now some might say that this band needs the
props, because it isn’t a great live band, but I don’t see it
that way. Aside from bassist Mike Kroeger, who pretty much stays
out of the way of his brother and does a good job of keeping
from catching on fire, the other guys all have a major role in
the act. Chad Kroeger is the cocky, humorous rock star who sings
all the songs, keeps the show moving along and says “fuck’ a
lot; second guitarist Ryan Peake keeps the band together onstage
with thundering riffs and smooth back-up vocals; and drummer
Daniel Adair is a monster drummer, one of the best in modern
rock.
So, what can be taken from all of this? On the
way out of the show, I was talking to a guy who said he didn’t
really care for Nickelback before the show, but since his son
wanted to see the band, he came to the show. After seeing the
stage show, and realizing it was “those guys” who sang all of
the songs, his opinion had changed and he would give the band a
chance now. I have a feeling that would be most people’s
reaction, given similar circumstances.
Hinder finally made it to the Bay Area to play a
major show, and the late-arriving crowd was clearly impressed.
Hinder wants to look and act like Aerosmith, circa anytime in
its career. These guys are helping bring back the looks and
actions of our old-time heroes, much like the headliners, and
are one of the most engaging bands of the last five years. The
quintet’s Aerosmith-meets-GNR sound took off in 2006, and the
band has been on the road for the better part of the last three
years, playing to big crowds. The only time taken off was to
record its latest record, Take it To the Limit, which was
one of the best releases of 2008. The group split the set
evenly, with new songs fitting in nicely with the old hits, and
the sing-along to the massive hit “Lips of An Angel” was so loud
it was actually scary.
Hinder kicked my ass, and so did Papa Roach. P.
Roach is from nearby Vacaville, and the hometown crowd helped
fuel another great 40-minute set. Vocalist Jacoby Shaddix is a
whirlwind of activity, and he spent more time in the crowd than
onstage. The band played all of its hits (“…to be Loved,”
“Getting Away with Murder,” “Lifeline,” “Forever,” “Scars,” and
“Last Resort”-you didn’t know the group had so many, did you)
loudly and with enough oomph to be the early contender for set
of the night.
Saving Abel opened, and even these guys have
hits-“18 Days,” “Drowning” and “Addicted” have been all over the
radio this summer, and the band did an admirable job with a
small crowd and only 25 minutes onstage. One thing about this
show-it was well worth the money, with four good bands and a
great stage show from the headliner, which is something that
can’t be said for every tour I’ve seen this summer.
