Nickelback/Papa Roach/Hinder/Saving Abel at Jones Beach

So earlier in the week I caught the current Nickelback tour at Jones Beach in Long Island. I'm not a huge fan of Nickelback- they have some catchy tunes, and a couple killer tracks (the recent Burn it to the Ground, for exampe), but I normally wouldn't intentionally seek them out. But, a friend had cheap tickets and I actually do dig Papa Roach (whom I haven't seen live for 8 years), so I figured why not?

First off, though I'm not exactly complaining since I pretty much expected such seats given the ticket price, but, nonetheless, from my seat I could see France.

Secondly, I was surprised at the number of kids present (something the lead singer for Nickelback also commented upon later in the show). We had a row of annoying 10 year old girls who took every opportunity to scream- and not in a normal "wooo!" or "yeah!!!" concert-scream, but in the highest pitched wail they could manage.

But even beyond the annoyance factor- what are they doing at a show like this? Have their parents even heard some of Nickeback's songs? I mean, sure, you expect a few F-bombs to be thrown around at a rock concert, but should a buncha 10 year old girls really be proclaiming a song about a guy's thoughts while getting head from a chick as their favorite song? That's just weird.

We missed Saving Abel by time we arrived, but that's ok- I cared the least about them of the 4 bands playing.

Papa Roach was next, surprisingly (I woulda thought a band with a decade of tracks would get the second-to-last set). As I said earlier, I was looking forward to them the msot. I had seen them back in 2001 at both Ozzfest and DFP 5.0, but I didn't really become a fan of their material till their last 3 albums or so (which I delved into thanks to the excellent "Not Listening" track that was used to great effect in the finale of the trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse) so I was looking forward to experiencing them with that mindset.

They put on a great set with a solid mix of new and old (I haven't heard that "No Money" song for a very long time- I had forgotten about it, despite it being one of their first singles after "Last Resort", IIRC).

Only downside was not too many people were standing up for them, and I didn't want to be the only jackass in the mezzanine rockin' around, so i couldn't experience their set fully.

But, they ended their set more memorably than any of the other bands- lead singer Jacoby Shaddix took a running start to launch himself off the stage and into the bay around it. He swam around to backstage (managing to do so before the rescue boat scooped him up) and came back out, only to do it a second time (cue, once again, the rescue boat). Very cool.

Hinder was a question mark for me- I didn't recognize the band by name, but it turns out I have heard a few of them on the radio, and the frontman has a surprising 80's Arena Rock vibe going for him (something emphasized later on when he was brought out during Nickelback's set to do the vocals for a jam of ACDC's Highway to Hell).

So mark me pleasantly surprised with Hinder. I might even grab a few tracks from them off of iTunes- though I get the impression the band is one of those bands that are much more enjoyable live with the energy they produce, than they would be on an album.

Lastly, we had Nickelback themselves- the big mystery being if they'd open with the song about blowjobs or the other song about blowjobs. Turns out it was their first song about blowjobs- Figured You out.

Their frontman plays the audience well and is generally pretty funny (his comments on the 8 year olds in the front row being a notable highlight). Good stage show with pyro and lights, etc. Good mix of the tons of the singles they put out (though they didn't play the other song besides "Burn it to the Ground", that I was hoping to hear- "Follow You Home". I wouldn't have minded "Hero", either, but I didn't really expect that one since it's not a Nickelback-only song).

Still, while enjoyable, I can't get into them as much as I can other bands. They just strike me as a band that really wanted to be a country music band, but knew being a rock band was more profitable and mainstream (a theory furthered by the fact that they actually played a damn country song at one point).

Overall, despite the good show on stage, it was probably the most mild rock concert I've been to- with very few people standing or rocking out, so it wasn't quite the "let loose some energy" experience I was hoping to get at least some of. Still, it was entertaining, and I do like Jones Beach as a venue.