Nickelback/Breaking Benjamin/Sick Puppies - Greensboro NC - 17 April 2010
It was a crazy weekend in Greensboro. A furniture expo had taken up every hotel room and taxi for miles. Those who braved the scarce accommodations and made the trek to the Greensboro Coliseum on April 17th were treated to the show of the year.
The showed opened with Sick Puppies, a terrific trio from Sydney, Australia. They delivered a tight (albeit short) set of driving rock tunes which borrowed heavily from their latest effort, Tri-Polar. Shimon Moore proved to be a very good front man, carrying lead vocals and lead guitar with ease. Emma Anzai was strong on bass and with Mark Goodwin, the drummer, formed a tight rhythm section which treated the early arriving crowd to some blistering rock.
This was followed quickly by Breaking Benjamin, a four-piece rock outfit from Wilkes-Barre, PA. These music veterans, touring almost nonstop since 1998, gave a polished performance, drawing mainly from their most recent release, Dear Agony, but with samples from their prior three albums. Benjamin Burnley, the band's namesake, was the visual focal point of the performance. His strong vocals and crisp guitar solos brought the near capacity crowd to its feet. All in all, a very good performance.
Then came Nickelback. A Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta, these guys tore the roof off the Coliseum. They took the stage to the bludgeoning riff of "Burn it to the Ground", and immediately the band was immersed in a blinding pyro display. The rabid crowd roared and was treated to a staging and pyrotechnic spectacular. They early set list covered their most popular songs from their last four albums, with particular emphasis on their most recent release "Dark Horse:.
The band has been on the road for most of the last two years, but their enthusiasm and good-natured banter suggested a band that truly enjoyed interacting and entertaining their audience. Their pacing was particularly impressive; they effectively mixed their hard charging rock tunes and their ballads to great effect. The very partisan audience seemed to know every word to every tune and sing them at the top of their collective lungs.
The musical driving force of the band is guitarist, Ryan Peake. He is a very musically gifted guitar player and mixes a variety of guitar tones and styles into their very hook-heavy hits.
Mike Kroeger is a strong bass player. His quiet, laid-back demeanor belies a strong personality and driving bass in the spirit of John Paul Jones. He took the ribbing of his bandmates throughout the concert with good humor.
Daniel Adair is a force of nature! An amazing drummer, formerly of Three Doors Down, he combines the strength of John Bonham with the technique of Neil Peart. His unorthodox style, frequently hitting the cymbals from below rather than above, is accentuated by his light-speed foot pedal and snare work. His drum solo, done on a riser that propelled him about 30 feet in the air, was a drum clinic for all the musicians in attendance.
Then there is the frontman, Chad Kroeger. He is a smart, engaging and ceaselessly entertaining lead singer and guitar player. From his impromptu vocal covers of Axl Rose and Bon Scott, to his funny (albeit sometimes excessive) stage banter, this guy was genetically engineered to entertain. His self-deprecating humor and audience interaction could not hide the fact that he is one of the most impressive vocalists and guitarists on the tour circuit today.
After the band finished a scorching first set, they trotted out to the middle of the arena. A drum riser came from under the stage and the band sported acoustic guitars and barstools. They treated the crowd to covers of Guns N Roses, Garth Brooks (no, really) and Bon Jovi before they swung into a series of their own hits, including "Rockstar" and "If Today Was Your Last Day".
The band made it back to the main stage for the final set. It was capped by a good-spirited, if poorly conceived, t-shirt cannon/shot pouring/beer throwing spectacle. They then ripped into the higher energy hits, including "Something in Your Mouth". "Animals", "Shakin Hands" and an encore highlighted by "Too Bad". This was capped with a pyrotechnical sendoff the shook the coliseum.
All in all, a fantastic show. The bands were entertaining, the music was terrific, the sound was perfect and the staging and pyro were excellent. The exhausted, boisterous crowd left the Greensboro Coliseum in good spirits, having been treated to the best show of the year.