Nickelback live at Vector Arena, November 2009
For my 2009 birthday a very good friend of mine got me a
ticket to Nickelback’s show, who were on the Dark Horse worldwide tour. I was super
excited and had to wait four long months between when I got the ticket and when
I could actually see the band live. This was it; I was going to a rock concert!
These Four Walls opened and were pretty decent from what I
recall, though I didn’t have any desire to rush out and buy their album. I
think the buzz of being in Vector Arena meant I didn’t actually concentrate on
the band and I didn’t take in any of their music. Sick Puppies, an Australian
band, came on second and were much more successful at getting the crowd warmed
up, with some cool rock tunes and a well gelled band. I obtained a few of their
tracks after the show and still enjoy listening to them. Overall, the two
opening acts well surpassed the opening acts at Basshunter.
Nickelback burst onto the stage with Something In Your Mouth, complete with red flame shooters. Okay, so
Nickelback get a lot of criticism for their songs, look, sound and overall
presence in the music industry, but they sure can rock live. Something In Your Mouth wasted no time
in getting the crowd going and, despite some haters on Chad Kroeger’s voice,
the guy can sing live. I was stoked when Nickelback did a throwback to their
old days with Because of You. This
wouldn’t be the last time they did this, with Too Bad, Figured You Out, and,
probably my favourite Nickelback song, How
You Remind Me. Nickelback kept things Kiwi with Photograph, where they integrated pictures of the band and pictures
of Kiwi icons onto the screen behind the band. The stage was T shape, which the
band utilised by sitting at the top of the T to sing If Today Was Your Last Day and Rockstar,
another one of my favourites. They played most of the songs from Dark Horse, a few covers which went over
my youthful head and rounded off the encore with Someday and Animals.
There were two letdowns of the night: firstly, I wish they hadn’t played Animals last – I feel one of their older
songs or something from Dark Horse would
have fit better. Secondly, because they played older songs, I would have loved
to see Feeling Way Too Damn Good, and
if I was really lucky, Hero, though I
suppose there’s only so much you can fit into one show.
Overall, it was an awesome night, and as my first rock
concert, it was quite an eye opener. The crowd were great, Chad was
entertaining when he wasn’t singing, and I loved the whole atmosphere they
gave. Of course, I would come to see better rockers in the future, but for me,
Nickelback ticked all the boxes.
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