NICKELBACK

PERTH ARENA

PERTH, WA AUSTRALIA

Tuesday 26th May 2015

ON THE LAST DATE OF THEIR AUSTRALIAN TOUR NICKELBACK PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS...

SETLIST: Million Miles an Hour | Something in Your Mouth | Photograph | Hero | Gotta Be Somebody | Far Away | Edge of a Revolution | Master of Puppets / Walk | Too Bad | Someday | Animals | Moby Dick (Drum Solo) | She Keeps Me Up | Summer of '69 / Hotel California | Rockstar | When We Stand Together | Figured You Out | How You Remind Me | Encore: Everlong (Foo Fighters cover) | Burn It to the Ground

When we talked to Ryan from Nickelback in the lead up to the tour we talked about that age old media myth that ‘every hates Nickelback’ and of course just looking at the packed house here tonight makes a mockery of that suggestion unless we are surrounded by thousands of people who have decided to admire Perth’s newest large venue.

For a band from Alberta Canada currently celebrating their 20th anniversary there’s a lot of love in the house and main-man Chad Kroeger seems in a rather fine mood befitting the last date of their well-received Australian jaunt.

Tonight has something for everyone, and if you love the amount of time Chad spends talking directly to the crowd, (something that surprised this Nickelback virgin) it’s an even more rewarding experience.

Giving the support to fellow Canadians Monster Truck is a minor masterstroke and the band pull off one of the best support sets we’ve heard in some time with their heady referencing of seventies rock and suitably heavy grooves. There’s also a brace of great and as yet unreleased songs: ‘Don't tell me how to live’ with its mile high riff and touch of Southern style; and ‘Shells’ (we think) with its river deep backbeat and frantic rocking construct. For a four piece with keys on board they create a great noise and are pretty much essential to check out if you haven’t already.

Nickelback arrive on stage like conquering heroes, knowing the huge reception they have had elsewhere this trip they don’t disappoint at all the entire night.  Starting out with the new song ‘Million Miles an Hour’ they almost immediately get down to what they are known for – songs about sex – with ‘Something in Your Mouth’ leading the charge: “It’s a long time since we've been here! The last show we get to do in Australia for a long fucking time!” Chad tells us as they launch into fan favorite ‘Photograph’.

And just three songs in we get second guitarist Timmy replete with his rather cool Frank Zappa T-shirt and ‘Hero’ the song Chad wrote for the Spiderman movie.  ‘Gotta Be Somebody’ and ‘Far Away’ seem to fly by before ‘Edge of a Revolution’ (another new song) moves us away lyrically from the norm  and the side stage VIPs start jumping like the rest of us.

The stage tonight is simply set up with a Stargate-like circular lighting set that projects videos behind the band “This is a weird job, but the fucking coolest job in the world! We’re going to try and entertain the shit out of you” Chad tells us. And entertain they do. Not just with Chad’s stories but with beer, brought onstage on trays and thrown out to the crowd by the band and the guys from Monster Truck along with a volley of t-shirts.

Between jokes about setting up the stage themselves (“We’ve been here days! My back is killing me”) we get the crowd pleasers and surprises like the Metallica/Pantera mash of ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Walk’. Hey it works

‘Too Bad’ from the massive ‘Silver Side Up’ album and ‘Someday’ the lead song from the impressive ‘Long Road’ keep up the momentum and Chad continues to engage the crowd getting them to jump in unison during the chorus telling us we might just make the video they are filming of the tour.

   
For us though it’s ‘Animals’ that takes the prize as we are implored to ‘Rip the roof off’ the Arena. Sadly the ‘Moby Dick’ led drum solo is ruined by the girl in front who is telling her friend it must be on the band’s first album, Led Zeppelin fans must have felt a chill. It’s all good though  

As the main set draws to a close ‘She Keeps Me Up’ loses us with its cod-funk, as you can probably imagine they don't do funk well in the way that music often loses its soul when you borrow from the past; but it’s a rare misstep and the masses love it! The crowd karaoke that follows of Bryan Adams ‘Summer of 69’ and the Eagles ‘Hotel California’ adds a bit of fun before the Kid Rock-like ‘Rockstar’ ups the ante again, and the crowd loves it.

‘When we Stand Together’ draws a similarly great response, it’s a song that always reminds me of one-hit wonders Opus’ ‘Live Is Life’ but maybe that’s just me! We round out the main set with rousing renditions of 'Figured You Out' and the song that really started it all at this level 'How You Remind Me'.

Back out for encores of Foo Fighter’s ‘Everlong’ and the epic 'Burn It To the Ground' one thing is for sure – everyone here loves Nickelback…

INTERVIEW WITH RYAN PEAKE

by the Rockpit