Clothing was dampened, but spirits certainly were not, as Nickelback closed out the opening night at Rock The Park in London, Ontario.
The drenched audience didn’t let the soupy base of mud below their feet stop them from rocking out to one of the most successful bands in Canadian music history on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 .
Amongst the steady, misty rain, the veteran Canadian rockers delivered hit after hit for the sold-out crowd, along with some deep cuts from their vast catalog.
“You look fuckin’ good, how’s everybody doing?” vocalist Chad Kroeger asked London crowd.
Kroeger turned up the nostalgia during the show, referencing prior concerts the group has played in the ‘Forest City’.
Right after performing their hit ‘Someday’, Kroeger said the first time they ever played the song live was “right here in fuckin’ London.
“The Labatt’s show. Now we’ve got Coors Light we can drink today… I think it was the Coors Light show is what it was. That was about 20 years ago, Korn fucking opened up for us. Oh, the good ol’ days,” Kroeger said.
“There used to be a club called Call The Office, we used to play there. Yeah, we’re fuckin’ old. We’ve been doing this for a long Goddamn time,” he added.
On top of the familiar chart-topping singles, including: ‘How You Remind Me’, ‘Photograph’, ‘Rockstar’, ‘Animals’, and ‘Savin’ Me’, the band cranked out some older tunes, like ‘Worthy To Say’ from their 1998 album The State, along with ‘Hangnail’ from 2001’s Silver Side Up.
Guitarist Ryan Peake took some time during the set, for what Kroeger jokingly called a “shameless plug”, to mention the band’s new documentary on Netflix.
“Have you guys watched our new documentary on Netflix?” Peake asked.
“If you haven’t, go watch it.”
Previously published reports indicate ‘Hate to Love: Nickelback’ doesn’t shy away from the band’s up and down legacy, but it also finds dedicated advocates in the likes of actor Ryan Reynolds and Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan.
Throughout the film, the band speaks candidly about their past highs and lows — and getting energized about their future.
The movie was debuted at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and also was shown in select theatres for two days earlier this year.
Learn more about the doc, here.
Kroeger appeared to be enjoying himself onstage during the Rock The Park show, which started off with Pantera’s tune ‘Walk’ playing before the band hit the stage.
“Is there a shot kicking back?” Kroger asked a member of their crew.
“Something backstage there that I can pound real quick? Just might be weird to hear, but I am also at a rock concert. I want to party, too. Just because I’m facing a different direction than all of you doesn’t mean I’m not going to party. London… cheers.”
Kroeger also did his own Freddie Mercury impression during the set, engaging the crowd with a back-and-forth ‘day-oh’ chant.
“Should we finish off with something fucking heavy?” Kroeger asked, before their closing number.
“I think we should burn it to the fucking ground.”
The band left the stage on a high note, performing a blasting, pyro-singed encore of their 2008 banger ‘Burn It To The Ground’.
The 2023 Canadian Music Hall of Fame recipients, and Diamond-certified selling band, were named the “most successful rock band of the decade” by Billboard in 2009.
Globally celebrated for their career defining and award-winning hits, the four-piece comprised of Kroeger, Peake, Mike Kroeger, and Daniel Adair is one of the most commercially viable acts of the past two decades.
Their success includes worldwide sales of more than 50-million units, solidifying their status as one of the top-selling acts of all time and the second best-selling foreign act in the U.S., in the 2000’s decade, behind only The Beatles.
Their inescapable and irresistible smash “How You Remind Me” was named Billboard’s ‘Top Rock Song of the Decade’ and was the number-one most played song on U.S. radio (any format) in the 2000’s according to Nielsen Soundscan, with over 1.2 million spins.
Amongst all of these accolades, they’ve also been named Billboard’s “Top Rock Group of the Decade” and received nine Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People’s Choice Award, twelve JUNO Awards, seven MuchMusic Video Awards, and have been inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame (2007) and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2023).
With more than 23 chart-topping singles and fans spanning the globe, Nickelback boasts more than 12 consecutive sold-out world tours, playing to well over 10 million+ diehard and adoring fans.
The band recently wrapped the 52 date North American leg of the Get Rollin’ Tour on October 5, 2023.
Follow the band at https://nickelback.com/.