When nobody takes you very seriously, the best thing to do is not to take yourself too seriously either. That's the lesson Nickelback learned over the years, after a lot of jokes and criticism.
The attitude of the band that performed at Itaipava de Som a Sol this Thursday, the 3rd, was that of those who just wanted to present their music and have fun. Overflowing with charisma and joy, one of the memes the group embodies is that of the nice Canadian. Always polite, joking, and with a smile from ear to ear.
“Feed The Machine,” a track from their most recent album and tour, opens the show with a competent hard rock sound that departs from the group's better-known ballads. Since the venue is relatively small, the atmosphere was more intimate from the start, with fans frantically pressing against the barrier and a crowd that just wanted to enjoy the hits from further back.
This atmosphere transformed “Photograph,” the third song in the set and probably the band's biggest anthem, into a giant karaoke session. Before starting, vocalist Chad Kroeger once again showed his awareness of the memes and commented on a famous viral video showing him holding a graph instead of a photograph. “If you're a millennial, you probably know this song as 'Look at this graph,'” he joked. From then on, it was just cell phone lights shining and the audience singing louder than the speakers.
By seamlessly blending "Far Away" and "Hero," Nickelback easily maintains a relaxed atmosphere. Chad and guitarist Ryan Peake , who also share vocals, take turns joking with the audience. Ryan, for example, learned how to toast in Portuguese and got the Ibirapuera stadium to shout "saúde" (cheers) in unison.
And the guys really nail the live performance; all the songs are played with the utmost competence. The problem is when the meme, the joke, becomes stronger than simple flirting. In “Rockstar,” Chad decided to bring two fans, twins, onto the stage. They sang the entire track alongside the band in the most fun, unenthusiastic, and clumsy way possible. Anyone who wanted to hear the band's raspy vocals, which are a hallmark of the single, was disappointed.
“How You Remind Me,” a fan favorite, comes before the encore, and the setlist closes with “Gotta Be Somebody” and “Burn It To The Ground.” Bringing a lot of intimacy to the fans, Nickelback's performance in São Paulo sounded like a small celebration before a big event, Rock In Rio, in this case. A relaxed warm-up, without taking itself too seriously. Quite a bit like what seems to be the essence of the band.
Check out the gallery below with photos by Marcela Lorenzetti :
Setlist:
- Feed the Machine
- Hangnail
- Photograph
- Far Away
- Hero
- Figured You Out
- Someday
- Lullaby
- Animals
- When We Stand Together
- Rockstar
- This Afternoon
- Million Miles an Hour
- How You Remind Me
- Gotta Be Somebody
- Burn It to the Ground
