EDMONTON -- There's no use complaining about the state of mainstream rock, that all these popular bands basically sound the same with only one or two insignificant variations.
They do.
A cynical person might've observed last night's Nickelback concert at Skyreach Centre and come to the conclusion that they're cloning rock bands in a lab somewhere. It must be working - almost 14,000 people packed the place on the coldest night of the year to see how they turned out.
The stage was like an onion. You peel back layers of drums and musical gear to reveal successively tighter and more experienced bands seemingly grown from the same DNA culture. It all started with the embryonic Rake - cancelled from Calgary's show due to production snarls, but given their half-hour of fame for a hometown crowd. Lacking the songs and the stage presence, this promising Camrose band isn't quite ready for prime time. Still, a decent effort for their first arena show.
Then we got the more developed Default, whose solid set had a lot more energy and dynamics than their fairly stale album. The Vancouver foursome had the songs, too. Highlights that didn't include the overplayed Wasting My Time were Somewhere and the big closer, Live a Lie, featuring a guest appearance by Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger.
He and his band came back later with a bang. Literally. That's one of the first things you ask when you become a rock star - how much stuff can we blow up? Deadline prohibited the answer, or whether Jerry Cantrell sat in as he did in Calgary Thursday night. (What is Jerry Cantrell doing on the road with Nickelback? The Shadow knows.)
Consider the following: Each of these bands has four members. Each features prominently the sound of distorted guitars, hooks like pop songs, songs with soft verses/loud choruses, lyrics that contain just enough angst to convey depth to a white suburban image and vocals typically in the range of the angry, baritone drawl that is the hallmark of so many modern rock bands today. Kroeger, the newest hitmaker on the scene, produced both Rake and Default, along with his own band, so the similarity in sound is no accident. We've heard it before. We'll hear it again. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the current paradigm of rock 'n' roll. Get used to it.
But that's not the point. For a change, an Alberta band is in the vanguard and I for one am not going to dump on them. Nickelback is spearheading a Western Canadian invasion that shows no signs of slowing down. How You Remind Me is one of the biggest hits in North America. The band's third album, Silver Side Up, sold at least three million copies since its release last fall. This is the most successful Alberta-bred band ever. Only the Stampeders came close, and that was a long, long time ago.
The fans that helped put Nickelback on top were delighted to share in the glory last night. People who have been following the band from the beginning must've gotten a big kick out of seeing 14,000 people cheering for a big production rock concert when just two years ago this band was playing nightclubs.
After the opening of Woke Up This Morning that brought the throngs to their feet, Kroeger gave back the love.
"I've seen so many concerts in this building," the Hanna, Alberta, native said.
"Motley Crue, Metallica, and now because of you we get to stand up here and do this! Thank you very much!"
There was great rejoicing.
Nickelback wasn't into frills - just a few explosions and towers of flame, nothing fancy. As if to prove they're not a one-hit wonder, as if they need to, the band unleashed the second single, Too Bad, and thousands of fans screamed along to every word. That's always a good sign.
Throughout a set mainly spanning the last two albums, Kroeger and Co. delivered a solid meat 'n' potatoes rock show. Best of all, they never seemed to forget how incredibly cool it is for an Alberta band to sell out the hometown hockey arena.
JAM! Rating: 3.5 out of 5
(More on: Nickleback).
