Review: Nickelback Headlines BC Place at Coast City Country Festival

Article content

Anyone who attended Coast City Country At some point Friday I wondered why BC Place’s indoor/outdoor space hadn’t been used before.

It certainly didn’t take the sudden rise in the popularity of country music to justify using the stadium for single-day or multi-day events. But the branding of the event was perfectly timed.

Article content

From the crowd trying to catch Cooper Alan on the Robson Round Up Stage to the numerous food stalls and activities promoting things like a year of shopping, the outside worked well. Very good, since the sound of the stage meant a good listening experience, whether you could see or not. The scene was cold, right down to the corridor where people could enjoy a cigarette.

Article content

The problem with using BC Place’s main stage for past performances is that it’s so cavernous that even a well-attended show feels sparse.
Elle King’s 6pm show was a good example.

The California country rocker performed a series of her well-known hits backed by a crack group that seemed like all they had to change to go from Tinseltown studio sessions to a country festival were their hats. King may adopt a slightly sassy singer in videos for songs like Ex’s and Oh’s, but her Hollywood pedigree as the daughter of esteemed actor Rob Schneider is clear.

It was a perfectly rehearsed set. It sounded great and seemed to end too soon. More mandolin solos.

Walker Hayes’ change was quick and the increase in volume level substantial.

That meant country-hop hits like the first track, Y’All Life, which had a huge impact. The high-energy dance team mixing Hayride’s two square steps with the breakup also increased the energy. It attracted the crowd outside like a magnet.

Hayes may be a country act, but I suspect that somewhere a major pop or rock artist is still beating themselves up for playing You Broke Up With Me during the performance session. U Gurl is also a sweet rock boogie.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Hayes has many hits and a skilled, experienced delivery.

Bradley Zimmerman is a contemporary country star. He may also be the first artist I heard auto-tune to his shout “hello Vancouver.”

From his orange satin BC Lions jacket to his handsome Wrangler model, the guy arrives like a sort of C&W Eddie Vedder, with a distinctive vocal tremor. He does that whole thing where he grabs the microphone stand, slouches over and sings with his eyes closed like he was born there. He almost seemed in a trance.

The crowd singing along to Fall In Love was pure ’90s Goo Goo Dolls radio rock. BZ even strapped on a Gibson Flying V guitar to perform some power chord poses.

Article content

BZ makes Brooks & Dunn sound like bluegrass. That’s why Nickelback can headline BC Place for the first time in Coast City Country.

Hanna’s quartet is often just one vocal touch away from country certification. The place was not sold out.

While the crowd was respectable, it was difficult to imagine this was the turnout the organizers were looking for. Of course, Luke Bryan’s main show will likely do better on Saturday. People work on Fridays.

It’s not like Nickelback didn’t have fans losing their collective cow patties.

After a furious San Quentin opened the show, Chad Kroeger smiled widely and declared “we’re home.” He later explained that the band thought playing Coast City was really funny.

“We don’t have a f… established country, I’m sorry,” he declared. “We’re just going to get up and play some rock n’ roll.” Then the band played Far Away, which, let’s be honest, would have been one of the best country songs with a hint of twang.

It was clearly a good time for the band to be home. They joked about Hardy, had guitarist Ryan Peake sing more than I remember him doing in the past, bought Josh Ross and his Canucks jersey on stage for Rockstar, and even generated a song to sing the tender love ballad Figured You Out.

Article content

Now there is a wedding song for all ages.

Article content

So is This Afternoon, which is probably already a feature of some upcoming streaming series.

In fact, it’s the narrative aspect of Nickelback’s songs, from Someday to Photograph to How You Remind Me, that makes the band such a natural fit with country music. The group did Vancouver proud for Coast City Country’s number one night.

The festival continues all day and night on Saturday at BC Place with a great evening after party at the Commodore with War and Treaty.

[email protected]

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know – add VancouverSun.com and LaProvincia.com to your favorites and subscribe to our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber — for just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The province.

Article content