Live Review : Nickelback + Lottery Winners @ AO Arena, Manchester on May 20th 2024

Nickelback are the band that everyone loves to hate. Fact. Over the past 20 years, they’ve been the butt of all jokes and the subject of countless memes, all because the internet said so. Sure, they’re a little bit safe, a little bit corny, but a band doesn’t maintain their status as an arena band if they don’t have something about them that makes people want to attend their shows. Tonight, at Manchester Arena, they bring their Get Rollin’ tour, to prove to those in attendance that they still have it, even 25+ years into their careers.  

Openers, The Lottery Winners, are one of the biggest underdog stories of the decade. Their 2022 album, “Anxiety Replacement Therapy”, shot to number 1 in the UK Album charts, they have had massive arena level support slots, they appear on almost every festival poster and have spent most of the past 18 months on the road. This hype is incredibly justified as they are one of the most captivating, entertaining and genuinely funny live bands knocking around at the minute.  

Frontman Thom Rylance just exudes charisma. He has a natural ability to hold the crowd in the palm of his hands, through his genuinely hilarious quips and authentic, unabashed nature. At points, the set evolves from concert to stand-up comedy show, but it never seems drawn out or unnecessary, as everyone seems to hang on to every single word that he utters.  

Comedy aside, The Lottery Winners have a selection of top-quality songs. Songs such as ‘Worry’, ‘Letter To Myself’ & ‘Burning House’ have amazing sing along potential and are bonafide arena bangers. Even those unfamiliar with the band were singing along by the end of their set, and just like every time I've seen them, tonight was an absolute triumph. Through their relentless hard work, The Lottery Winners have made sure that the sky truly is the limit for them, and before long, you may see them playing as the headliners in a building like this.  

Nickelback are a band that have 2 modes, they have their acoustic led sing along numbers, and they have their relentless, blues inspired, classic rock tunes. There is nothing else to their game. Whilst this sounds like a complaint, I can guarantee is not, because they do it so so well. It is through their more subtle, gentler songs that the talents of this band truly shine. The vocal talent of all 4 members of the band is absolutely impeccable, with pitch perfect harmonies that really add an emotional depth to their music. Whilst frontman Chad Kroeger is far and away the most notable member of the band, Guitarist and co-vocalist Ryan Peake really deserved his flowers tonight, he added a new dimension to the tracks and almost outshone Chad on numerous occasions. 

Throughout their storied career, Nickelback have collected a vast catalogue of absolute bangers. ‘How You Remind Me’, ‘Burn It Down’, ‘Rockstar’, ‘Animals’, ‘Far Away’ have all become iconic mainstays, and each of these songs hits just as well as it would’ve done 20 years ago when they were released. There is still a true energy to Nickelback’s performance, which is apparent through the way they perform these songs. There was no phoning it in tonight, this was the performance of a band who still love what they do, and seem like they have no desire of calling it a day. It was a bit surprising to me that their stage show was entirely barebones, previous footage of Nickelback gigs give a glimpse into a show that is awash with production, pyrotechnics, elaborate stage design, but tonight was not that night. It was stripped of all of its bells and whistles and instead the music did the talking. This was a decision that ultimately worked, as the lack of distractions allowed you to take Nickelback for what they are, a bloody good, yet incredibly safe, Rock Band.  

The tail end of their set was Nickelback 101, we got ‘Photograph’ into ‘Rockstar’ into ‘How You Remind me’, with a huge finale of ‘Burn It To The Ground’. The were treated like absolute gods by the Manchester faithful, who consistently sang every word of every song for the duration of their set. Whilst admittedly only accustomed to their more well-known songs, straight after the gig i was on Spotify playing putting them straight into my playlist. 

Tonight proved to me that you shouldn’t hate on a band, just because the internet tells you that its the cool thing to do. Sure Nickelback are never going to be my favourite band on the planet, but their musical ability, back catalogue of songs and live shows are absolutely, unequivocally undeniable. If they were ever at a festival, they would be immediately highlighted in green as a must see. Don’t listen to the Internet. Nickelback are absolutely class. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Nickelback + Lottery Winners