Nickelback gives fans what they came for

WORCESTER -- Sunday night at the DCU Center, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger declared that the band was going to "try to rip the roof off" the place.

To which the roof replied " ehh," staying securely fastened for the duration of the Canadian rockers' competent if unspectacular 90-minute set of pop-kissed hard rock.

In single doses, Nickelback's heaving singalong anthems have a guilty-pleasure charm, propelling its albums, like 2005's "All the Right Reasons" to multiplatinum status. But extended exposure proved underwhelming. The quartet, augmented by an extra keyboardist/guitarist, seemed like a congenial group of dudes who just don't have many original ideas. No crime, that, but no mind-blower, either.

The band is like the "According to Jim" of rock 'n' roll: Like the Belushi sitcom, the Canadian rockers present predictable material in expected and, for some, comfortingly familiar fashion.

Sunday night that meant lots of lip service to chugging beer and smoking pot, oodles of shooting sparks and dramatic pyro, and the occasional dirty joke between the playing of catchy yet interchangeable radio hits like "Savin' Me" and "Someday."

Power ballad "Photograph" perfectly illustrated the group's generic rock band vibe with its doggedly literal visual accompaniment. As Kroeger applied his tunefully gruff wail to lyrics such as "This is where I grew up" and "Should I go back and try to graduate," pictures drifted by on the central video screen of a childhood home and cap-and-gown clad teens. "If Everyone Cared," a big-idea ballad meant to promote peace, was accompanied by tributes to freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela.

"Side of a Bullet," a tribute to former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott -- who was shot onstage in 2004 -- was heartfelt and supplied the night's only real edge, thanks to Kroeger's emotional investment, some revved-up riffing, and a piped-in solo from the guitarist himself. The song's close, a double shot of sonic booms, felt in questionable taste, however.

The 12,000-strong sold-out crowd held up its end of the bargain, supplying vocals when prompted, most loudly on breakthrough hit "How You Remind Me," and cheering the iconic images -- Ozzy, Jimi, et al. -- during "Rockstar ." And perhaps that's the band's biggest gift, making fans feel like it could've easily been them up on that stage.