Nickelback’s performance was just about what fans have come to expect from the multi-platinum pop band.
Clik here to view.
Nickelback in concertWORCESTER – If there is one thing we learned from the Nickelback concert at the DCU Center on Saturday night it’s that Gavin Rossdale isn’t finished being a rock star just yet. Rossdale’s once prominent post-grunge band Bush opened the sold-out show with a fiery, impassioned 45 minute set.
Rossdale’s performance did nothing to diminish the 90 minute set offered by the headliners, but Nickelback’s performance was just about what fans have come to expect from the multi-platinum pop band.
There were plenty of pyrotechnic accents, in the way of firebombs and explosives, a slew of references to sex, drugs, and Saturday night, and a steady stream of palatable radio hits that had the multitude singing in unison.
Nickelback spared no expense for the arena concert, with catwalks equipped with conveyor belts and a second stage at the back of the house that descended from the rafters and rose (and rotated) once the band was on board.
Lead singer Chad Kroeger was downright gleeful as he introduced pop hits like “Photograph” and party songs like “Something in Your Mouth.” He introduced “Faraway” telling fans he was going to “tug on some heart strings.”
The road crew took the stage to toss beer cups and fire t-shirt cannons at one point, a precursor to the jubilant “When We Stand Together” which included the grandest of all arena rock clichés; a drum solo.
The band’s signature “How You Remind Me,” and “Burn It to the Ground,” closed the main part of the set. The encore included “Gotta Be Somebody,” and “Figured You Out.”
The set was impeccably programmed and perfectly timed, allowing for the augmentation of vocal and synthesizer loops and the aforementioned firebombs. Again, almost exactly what you might expect from one of the very best arena rock bands.
Unexpectedly, and with none of the bells and whistles afforded the headliner, Bush and Rossdale nearly stole the show. More than a dozen years removed from his status as a 90s semi-icon, Rossdale set out to prove that the band and its music is still relevant and viable.
Bush opened with “Machine Head,” followed by “My Life” and “The Sound of Winter.” The latter song featured Rossdale scraping his guitar across the stage apron. He married “Everything Dead” with R.E.M.’s “The One I Love,” before pulling out all the stops with a cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together.”
Rossdale made his way out into the audience for the song, and it wasn’t just a gimmicky jaunt through the front rows. He found his way to the back of the arena, climbing over rows of seats and navigating the sea of humanity.
The band closed their set with “Come Down.”
Seether and My Darkest Days also offered opening sets, making this tour one of the better rock collections to come down the pike in some time. Seether was especially strong with songs “Gasoline,” “Broken,” and “Remedy.”
