Nickelback
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Allstate Arena/ Rosemont, IL
Review and photo by Andy Argyrakis
Between predictable rockers, bloated power ballads and countless lyrical clichés, Nickelback is epitome of what’s wrong with alternative rock today. Add in the annoyingly grating voice of Chad Kroeger, plus so much radio overkill that everyone on earth (even the haters) knows the words through unavoidable osmosis, and the Canadian foursome could very well take the cake as the next Creed (minus the religious posturing).
But if the band has to be credited with a positive quality, it’s the ability to sell records by the truckload, mostly to people who don’t necessarily care about music, but still managed to score a copy of the new Dark Horse (Roadrunner) at Wal-Mart somewhere between the spray deodorant and packaged underwear aisles. Nonetheless, those very folks (who now span everyone from students to soccer moms to thirty-somethings hoping to relive their glory days) also showed unconditional support on Nickelback’s latest arena tour, selling out in so many markets that a summer leg in sheds was added.
Despite the overwhelmingly underwhelming nature of the near two hour experience, there was plenty of monstrous production to keep even the most disinterested on their toes- from a pyro explosion before the lights even dimmed to a gigantic LCD screen and cat walk for the standard stripped down set (more on that later). After kicking out some electric led with “Something In Your Mouth” and “Because of You,” the guys settled into the ultra-lame but unavoidably infectious “Photograph,” the first Bic-flicker of the night with pictures of youthful revelry plastered across the jumbo-tron.
The contrived vibe continued at lighting speed from the brainless ballad “Far Away” to Shaun Morgan (front man for opening act Seether) joining Nickelback for a cover of Chicago band Filter’s “Hey Man Nice Shot.” Considering that original act pulled the same collaborative stunt at this very venue with bill mates Stone Temple Pilots, the good hearted gesture appeared especially anticlimactic.
Come the standard set of intimacy in the middle, the group sang of drunken revelry (surprise, surprise) during “This Afternoon” and called out just about every stereotypical rock n’ roll characteristic throughout the aptly titled “Rockstar.” The only saving grace in that segment was a video montage of old school backstage passes (AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Paul McCartney), which is a level Nickelback can always aspire towards but have no prayer of ever attaining. With an onslaught of other sing-a-longs (“How You Remind Me” for the trillionth time anyone?), Nickelback gave those who brought tickets exactly what they paid for, though outside of another few years of stellar sales, the band won’t likely be winning any awards for thinking outside the box.
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