Nickelback (support from The Lottery Winners) OVO Hydro, Glasgow Thursday 16th May 2024

They had released a few albums previously but it was that one song and its parent album ‘Silver Side Up’ that really broke Nickelback into mega stardom. The album was a regular in my then state-of-the-art 6 x CD player that was housed in the boot of my Fiat Punto, meaning a separate chart challenge of sorts to see which 6 bands CD albums would make it into my car that week. That album was in there for a number of weeks and months to follow. The band released a few more well-received albums over the next few years but for some unknown reason, their star started to fall. Suddenly, they weren’t cool and in some ways, they became a focal point of ridicule in the rock world. I genuinely have no idea why but their recent documentary film ‘Hate to Love’ is an acknowledgement of this love/hate relationship. To their fans who continued to buy the albums and attend the shows, they were gods. To others, they were inexplicably everything that was wrong with rock. To this day, I honestly don’t know why!

To Nickelback, the how’s, why’s and when’s really shouldn’t matter, as fast forward to 2024 and they’re still going strong. Latest album ‘Get Rollin’ was released in 2022 and after a long wait, it was time for Chad Kroeger (vocals/guitar). Ryan Peake (guitar), Mike Kroeger (bass) and Daniel Adair (drums) to bring the next leg of the world tour to the UK and Europe, starting at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on a beautiful, warm and sunny May evening in Scotland’s largest city. If there was any doubt as to whether Nickelback is still as popular with fans, that was quickly countered by the long queues snaking around the arena at doors opening. Indeed, on seeing the crowd, one female, resplendent in Nickelback cowboy hat and t-shirt was heard saying to her partner in a broad Scottish brogue, “see, they cannae be that shite, can they”.

I must confess that I had never heard of support act The Lottery Winners. The band, from Greater Manchester, had a number 1 album in 2023 with ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’. But somehow, I still managed to miss them! As they took to the stage, singer Thom Rylance excitedly greeted the crowd, along with the most infectiously funny laugh. “I’m going to go off stage and I’ll come back on again. Pretend that I’m really famous” he pleaded, before returning to the stage to rapturous applause and trying a Freddie Mercury-style call and response. The Lottery Winners were out to have some fun, kicking off with ‘Worry’ and ending the fun number with the cry of “cheer like it’s a hit”. The Glasgow crowd duly obliged. ‘The Meaning of Life’ was followed by ‘Letter to

Myself’, a song that Rylance explained was penned for his 12-year-old self, and that he always had a 12-year-old with him when playing this song. “But not in a Philip Schofield way” quipped the singer. Exactly the kind of near the bone humour that goes down a storm in Glasgow! The very 90s sounding ‘Much Better’ (kind of Lightning Seeds, maybe?) with crowd participation and the White Stripes-like blues-rock of ‘Headlock’ (with the wonderful lyric of “I wanna live in the pocket of every pair of jeans you wear”) really got the crowd moving. The “get down low” command and further crowd participation with phone camera lights on ‘Start Again’ and final song ‘Burning House’ had the crowd energetically jumping, with Rylance stating it was ‘the best night of my life”. Were The Lottery Winners the type of support band expected at a Nickelback show? Probably not. Was their music a fit for a Nickelback crowd? Probably not. But were they one of the most entertaining live bands I’ve seen in a long time? Hell, yeah! They might not have won the actual lottery but The Lottery Winners definitely hit the jackpot with the Glasgow audience with their brand of fun indie pop-rock, winning some new fans along the way who’ll surely attend their headline shows the next time they’re in the city.

As Pantera played loudly through the PA system, Nickelback made their way onstage, with the crunching ‘San Quentin’ opening the show. It’s a heavy enough track on the ‘Get Rollin’ studio album but there’s even more weight to it in a live setting, making it a great statement of intent. From the outset, the Kroeger brothers, Peake and Adair looked as if they were enjoying being back on stage after 6 days of rehearsals, taking the crowd back to the year of my marriage to the present Mrs Griffiths (2005) and the ‘All the Right Reasons’ album with the mid-tempo rocker ‘Savin’ Me’ and the beautiful power ballad (it is!) ‘Far Away’. It’s unusual for a rock band to include a slower ballad-type track so early in the set but after the bombast of the opener and mid-tempo of the second song, it slowed things down and allowed the audience to breathe a bit. A well-structured start to the show… but did we expect anything other than that from Nickelback?

The tempo was upped again with the frantic ‘Animals’, driven along by the rhythm section of Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair before fan favourite ‘Someday’ from 2003’s ‘The Long Road’ album reminded everyone exactly why Nickelback ruled radio in the new millennium with perfectly crafted commercial modern hard rock. But it’s all too easy to forget that the band existed long before that successful period, releasing a brace of albums prior to the world-wide success they achieved in 2001/02. ‘Worthy to Say’ from 1999 album ‘The State’, with guitarist Ryan Peake on vocal duties, acted as a worthy reminder of this fact, with trippy green lighting and video screens illuminating the stage. It was good to see Peake receiving some well-deserved recognition for his invaluable contribution to the band, as for years he was often ignored by the mainstream media who favoured Chad Kroeger over the others in Nickelback.

The Canadians clearly still have a huge and very active fanbase that’ll follow them through thick and thin. The video screens showed adoring fans clinging to the front barrier with home-made signs bearing messages such as “Draw my next tattoo” and “This is my 80th show. Can I have a pick from Mike?”, much to the amusement of the younger Kroeger brother who playfully joked “you come to 80 shows and ask for a pick from the bass player”. Mike, of course, made his way into the pit area to personally hand deliver the pick to the fan. Things we like to see!! The sexual innuendos of ‘Figured You Out’ (“I like your pants around your feet”… unless I’m misunderstanding and this is actually a kind of toilet humour!) with the crew using hand-held cannons to fire t-shirts into the crowd led to a poignant ‘When We Stand Together’ with heart wrenching images of poverty and war displayed on the screen, interspersed by images of hope as doctors and others provided aid. It was a timely reminded of the times we are living in and the role that music can play in healing. The harder-edged ‘Hangnail’ and the jaunty ‘This Afternoon’ caused dad-dancing and head-bopping from the front to the back of the venue, with hands visibly clapping on the upper levels.

The Lottery Winners were invited back onto the stage for an unexpected, yet raucous, cover of the Oasis classic ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’. Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not an Oasis fan. There are various reasons for it, much of it admittedly rooted in trying to be different from my peers during the 90s Britpop explosion as opposed to anything else. But even the most anti-Oasis music fan like me would’ve struggled not to join in the mass singalong in the OVO Hydro. It was a communal moment, enjoyed by both bands onstage and loved by the audience. Did I enjoy it? Definitely… maybe.

Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake appeared centre stage with acoustic guitars for one of my personal favourites, ‘Photograph’. It was another karaoke moment, as the Glasgow choir accompanied them in every word of the song… but the real magic was when the amps plugged back in and the full band played the final chorus and outro. For ‘Rockstar’, a female fan (Amy, I believe), joined them onstage to sing along, understandably looking a tad awkward at first but then finding her stride and loving life as the song progressed. “I can’t sing” she said. “Neither can I but I’ve still been doing this for 27 years” replied Chad Kroeger. The lyrics to ‘Those Days’ are deeply nostalgic for those of us of a certain age (“Remember when the streetlights came on and we had to be home”… yup!) but the 80s memories were upped considerably with the accompanying images on the video screen, causing that warm, fuzzy feeling that you often get from childhood memories. I spotted Atari computer games, Magnum PI, Knight Rider and Hulk Hogan to name a few. I dare say that some of the younger members in the audience might have struggled a bit!

There’s no doubt that mega-hit ‘How You Remind Me’ is still Nickelback’s big song, so it was no surprise that they chose to close the main set with it. It’s a catchy number that unites generations of rock fans with its riffy magnificence and I dare say, there’s also that special element of nostalgia that further elevates the significance of the song for people like me. Unfortunately, the song was stopped midway through due to a female taking ill near the front and to be honest, it was so refreshing to see a band showing more concern for the welfare of a fan than the ego boost of playing their biggest hit. “That was me two days ago” reassured Kroeger, referencing a boozy night of his own as he encouraged other fans to move back and give her space. As she was lifted across the barrier for medical care, stewards were careful to avoid their own ‘Me Too’ moment, as highlighted jokingly (but also seriously!) by the singer! Order was restored and the song continued seamlessly from the second chorus. Nickelback: professionals to the very end! The encore of ‘Gotta Be Somebody’ and one of the band’s heaviest tracks ‘Burn it to the Ground’ closed off the night.

Nickelback left the Glasgow stage having delivered a slick, professional show full of earworm hits, a few deeper cuts and a brilliant stage show. For Kroeger (x2), Peake and Adair, live shows are where the real magic lies, with a clear and special connection between the band and the throngs of fans who don’t care what the haters think. 22 years after that ‘big hit’ catapulted them to stardom and they’re still releasing albums and filling arenas with fans of all ages. Will they ever be revered and respected by all fans of rock music? Probably not… but then, I know people who think the Beatles and Rolling Stones are guff! Music taste is often personal, shaped not only by what we like to hear but also by emotions and memories.

In Glasgow, Nickelback reminded us of what we really are. Music fans, enjoying memories and live music with friends, family and a Canadian band who are still very much on top form in a live setting.

Nickelback’s UK Tour continues in Manchester, London and Birmingham before heading into mainland Europe with dates in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Czech Republic.