Nickelback rocks to near-sellout crowd
Nickelback was already famous when they released a single about the desire to tour the world on “a new tour bus full of old guitars.”
Three years after “Rockstar” and another multi-platinum record later, the band and their shiny fleet of tour buses returned to Las Vegas, bringing their collection of old (and new, equally expensive) guitars with them.
Love them or hate them, the members of . . Nickelback are bonafide rockstars. And, as a near-sellout crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena witnessed on Sunday, the Canadian-based foursome puts on a bonafide rock show.
The performance made clear that frontman Chad Kroeger loves many things, including pyrotechnics, guitars, girls, f-bombs, and booze.
The swear-laced show started with a bang – three of them, in fact – just after 10 p.m., following performances by opening acts Papa Roach, Hinder and Saving Able.
The concussions set the tone for the next two hours, which featured plenty of fire and lights, along with the group’s distinct and formulaic brand of guitar-driven rock.
Still, there were several surprises at the show, including a cover song early into the set featuring openers on lead vocals.
Austin Winkler from Hinder and Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix took over from Kroeger during a fun and impressive rendition of AC/DC’s anthem, “Highway to Hell.”
Two Las Vegas residents also made onstage appearances during the set: Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul and comedian Carrot Top pitched in to help distribute cups of beer to the audience.
T-shirts were also launched into the screaming crowd, though it was hard to tell if it was the beer or the T-shirts that generated the bulk of the applause.
While most of the beer ended up on the audience rather than in any of their bellies, it could be argued that it was the thought that counts – and Kroeger definitely did a lot of thinking about drinking.
The thirsty singer ordered two bottles of vodka and a bottle of Patron to the stage, which he shared with the VIP audiences that flanked either side of the stage.
“Who’s thirsty?” he asked before serenading a woman in the front row with the chorus of Joe Nichols’ classic, “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.”
Meanwhile, he ordered himself a Jack Daniels and Coke and made frequent references to the party that he and his bandmates were going to throw after the show.
