Nickelback throws party in Toronto

By: Curtis Sindrey –

Nickelback – Dark Horse Tour [04.26.2009] Ford Amphitheater. Photo by cj_slim.

With a growling satan draping their amps, Norwood Ontario-natives My Darkest Days took the stage for their latest homecoming show since playing the Air Canada Centre in April as the lights came down to a somber blue as the first few chords were struck to begin “Sick and Twisted Affair,” the title track from their second studio album released in March.

“Toronto lose your fucking mind,” yelled Sal Costa, MDD guitarist, at a packed Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on Wednesday night, as members of the band doused the crowd with black armbands and lanyards. During their high octane set, Matt Walst “hydrated” his bandmates with a nice swift swig of beer all the while still playing their parts.

Walst proved to be a hugely charismatic frontman with easily enjoyable hard rock-worthy vocals, which got the crowd into their set by the third song with ease.

As the band burst into the innuendo-laden hit “Casual Sex,” they did a bit of self-promotion with My Darkest Days brand condoms, which “work 90 per cent of the time.”

Not wanting to be outdone by Walst, Costa always took a position at the front of the stage beyond his bandmates often showboating his guitar-playing abilities.

The band had a few surprises for their homecoming show with a foursome of erotic dancers clad in red glittery tops and black glittery bottoms and long black stockings, who took the stage for “Porn Star Dancing.”

“Give it up for the pornstar dancers,” exclaimed Walst.

“We once said that we gotta be on that fucking stage, and here we are thanks to you,” yelled Costa, as their set was wrapping up.

If you are ever in a Canadian stripclub, MDD would serve as the perfect soundtrack for that naughty night out.

I Mother Earth followed up with a nostalgia-laden set of their biggest hits including “Earth Sky and C.“ and “Summertime in the Void.” Through the first half of their set, they lacked the raw energy and showmanship MDD had.

Jagori Tanna, lead guitarist, provided superb slide guitar on several tracks and who also resembled actor Justin Theroux. Coincidence?

Brian Byrne’s vocals, although impassioned and raw, were hushed, and often not heard above the other instruments, which took away from his magnetic vocal performance.

Adam Gontier lead singer of Three Days Grace, joined IME on stage for a rendition of “One More Astronaut,” which gained a roaring reaction from the crowd.

Even if you aren’t a fan, you feel like you’ve heard their every note and melody sometime before.

Drinking was just one of the recurring themes of Nickelback’s hour-and-a-half performance. Whether or not Chad Kroeger’s fondness for alcohol is merely part of his stage gimmick is anyone’s guess, but he surely knows what his audience wants and their set wasn’t without the usual explosions and synchronized firebursts on stage as three large rectangular video screens helped convey a visual aspect to the concert with ominous thunderclouds for their third song “Never Again,” which deals with domestic violence and bright red lipstick for “Something in your Mouth.”

For their fifth song, “Far Away,” from their 2005 album All The Right Reasons, Kroeger said “I want to hear the ladies sing,” and they agreed instantaneously.

Kroeger celebrated a fan’s 23rd Nickelback show and 20th wedding anniversary with “a very dirty song,” which turned out to be “Animals,” also from Reasons.

Despite their vast arena of critics, Nickelback undeniably puts on a highly entertaining show, as long as you don’t have a pacemaker or are easily offended by an onslaught of f-bombs hurled from the stage.

Nickelback Set-List

1. This Means War
2. Something in Your Mouth
3. Never Again
4. Photograph
5. Far Away
6. Bottoms Up
7. Animals
8. Rockstar
9. Someday
10. Lullaby
11. When We Stand Together
12. Drum Solo
13. How You Remind Me
14. Burn It to the Ground
    Encore:
15. Gotta Be Somebody
16. Figured You Out