Canadian rock band Nickelback seems to always be the butt of every joke. But despite that, it hasn’t stopped the band’s success, with ten albums, four number one hits, and constant sold-out shows, Nickelback is entertaining crowds near and “Far Away.”
The band’s meme-ability really took off in 2015 when a Vine of their song “Photograph” became widely popular and gained worldwide traction. The six-second video featured the line “Look at this photograph,” edited and clipped to say “look at this graph,” and a picture of a graph was inserted in place of the picture. The clip then cuts to lead singer Chad Kroeger’s face, extremely zoomed in.
This sparked the band becoming the butt of every joke. However, people also don’t like the band because they think their music is unoriginal, cliché, and too commercialized. Which, yes, you can argue that entirely, but I guarantee the same people who say that also have not listened to “If Today Was Your Last Day,” which is my absolute favorite song by the band, if not one of my favorite songs of all time.
I’m also convinced people who hate on them just hate fun, because what do you mean you’re miserable listening to “Rockstar” because yes, “I’ll have the quesadilla.” Also, their live shows in general will make you enjoy the band more than you already might have.
I had the opportunity to see them back in May, and they did not disappoint. Despite a two-hour rain delay due to lightning in the area, they still came out in the pouring rain to play an hour-long show that was nothing short of amazing.
From a fun setlist to amazing pyrotechnics, I was absolutely blown away to the point I barely noticed the rain. This show made me want to see the band every time they go on tour in a city near me.
Not to mention, Kroger plays into the meme and makes fun of himself and his bandmates. I can always appreciate a person who makes fun of themselves. It’s also gotten to the point that the band introduces the song by referring to that meme, and truly adds a humorous highlight to their live shows.
I can’t wait to see what Nickelback does with their next tour. Despite the amount of hate online they get, they are guaranteed to sell out a high portion of their shows on their next tour.
