Nickelback Still Put On One of the Best Rock Shows Around

You’re either a Nickelback fan, or a liar

We’ll get right to the point, here – we’re waiting for the day when Nickelback come out on stage full throttle, and play nothing but their super-heavy deep cuts. Not that their milder radio hits aren’t great, but some of the band’s more metal material kicks some serious ass and needs to see the lights of a stage more often. Say whatever you want about Nickelback, but if you take a deep dive through their discography, you’ll find that they can hang with some of the heaviest hard rock acts around.

On this tour, Nickelback are mixing things up a bit. Their special guests include categorically country artists Brantley Gilbert and Josh Ross. While they aren’t necessarily rock, the two bring plenty of rock ‘n’ roll attitude to their sets. Historically, there’s always been plenty of room for rock and country crossovers, and this tour is a perfect example. It brings together two demographics to jam out on some common ground, and judging by the size of the crowds – it’s working.

They kicked things off with their latest banger, “San Quentin,” from their all-new LP Get Rollin’ that arrived last November. It’s certainly falls on the heavy side of the group’s catalog, and was a great way to get things going out of the gate. Next, they broke out their hit single “Savin’ Me,” then mellowed things out even more with the chart-topping smash “Far Away.” It seemed a little early to break out those two tracks, especially back-to-back, but the fans reacted favorably. The band quickly shifted gears again, tearing through their high-octane hit “Animals” that featured a shit-ton of pyro.

The rest of the set was a more mild one musically for the band. In addition to “Savin’ Me” and “Far Away,” they played their mega-hit “Photograph,” “Someday,” “This Afternoon,” and “Gotta Be Somebody,” among others. The another new track that was features was “Those Days,” a nostalgic song in the same vein as past hits “Photograph” and “This Afternoon.” The evening’s only heavy cuts were “San Quentin,” “Animals,” “Figured You Out,” and the final song of the night – “Burn It to the Ground.” 

Another highlight was the final song of their main set, “How You Remind Me.” The track, from their breakout 2001 album, Silver Side Up, is what many consider to be the song that put Nickelback on the map. Rightfully so, since it went on to garner a GRAMMY® nomination for Record of the Year. It has certainly maintained its place in the hierarchy of the band’s catalog, and is a staple in their live shows.

No material was pulled from their last two outings – 2014’s No Fixed Address and 2017’s Feed The Machine. The album that got the most play was the band’s 2005 diamond-certified All the Right Reasons. The rest of the songs in the setlist were sprinkled in pretty evenly from five other records.

Now, listen – we’re not hating on the band’s lighter songs and big ballads. We’re just making the observation that Nickelback have so many bangers that rarely get played live. And they need to be played much more. The band gets so much undeserved flack, but their deep cuts could silence even the toughest critics.

Nickelback have several more stops to make on this monstrous run. The tour wraps up on October 5 at Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota. The band’s tenth studio album Get Rollin’ is out now HERE via CD, deluxe CD, orange vinyl, limited edition D2C exclusive blue marble vinyl, and digital download.