At Rogers Arena on Sunday, March 15

What’s the big fuss about Nickelback? There are few bands in the world who routinely attract so much adoration and revulsion, and frontman Chad Kroeger and company have sold millions of albums while simultaneously becoming punching bags for critics and music snobs everywhere.

Judging by the alt-rockers’ latest Vancouver show, however, it was difficult to understand why they inspire such passionate reactions. On this night, they dutifully played their catchy radio hits and were eager to please their faithful followers, making this a solid albeit slightly bland arena gig.

As ticket-holders took their seats on this drizzly Sunday evening, New York’s the Pretty Reckless got things off to a hard-hitting start. The four-piece was fronted by Taylor Momsen (an actress known for playing Cindy Lou Who in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas back in 2000), and she snarled, twirled and slithered around the stage in a gold robe while her leather-clad bandmates laid down bluesy, heavy licks.

Momsen’s confident charisma meant that she successfully commanded the crowd’s attention—an impressive feat for an opening act—but her stage presence wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of memorable tunes.

Nickelback soon made up for this when it took the stage at little after 9 p.m., opening with the brawny one-two punch of “Million Miles an Hour” and “Something in Your Mouth”. The latter number included plenty of fiery pyrotechnics, and although its raunchy lyrics were cringe-inducing, the clean-cut Kroeger deflected criticism by introducing it as a “silly little song”. The tone then shifted for the wistful acoustic anthem “Photograph”, during which the large half-oval screen at the back of the stage displayed a montage of old Polaroids.

This was a hometown show for the locally-based group, a fact that the musicians repeatedly reminded fans of as they waxed nostalgic about the good old days. Early on in the set, guitarist Ryan Peake earned cheers when he reminded everyone that the Canucks had beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 to 1 the night before, and Kroeger informed us that Vancouver gigs always smell like “the best fucking weed ever.”

This comment was typical of the bawdy vocalist, who joked with the crowd between nearly every song. His quips were never particularly funny, but there was a good-natured charm to the way he repeatedly encouraged his cohorts to pause for shots of liquor from plastic cups, and on numerous occasions he toasted the crowd by bellowing “CHEERS!” The arena’s balcony was mostly empty, but the packed lower levels were clearly amused by his antics.

Despite the players’ seemingly copious drinking, their playing was technically impeccable. Chad’s half-brother Mike Kroeger grinned from ear to ear while manning the bass, touring member Tim Dawson sometimes swapped his guitar for piano, and drummer Daniel Adair wowed onlookers with a dizzying percussive display on a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick”. Wisely, this drum solo lasted long enough for Adair to prove his proficiency but not long enough for the cheering fans to get bored.

“Moby Dick” was one of several covers that the band performed throughout the evening: at one point, Peake and Kroeger led the crowd in an acoustic singalong of the Eagles’ hits “Take It Easy” and “Hotel California” plus Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69.” There was also an instrumental medley of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” and Pantera’s “Walk”, during which singer Kroeger and a team of roadies flung cups of beer and fired T-shirt cannons into the audience.

This crowd-pleasing stunt was one of night’s only moments of over-the-top theatricality. It was a much less flashy show than fans have witnessed on past Nickelback tours, as the band mostly devoted itself to highlighting its loud, dumb and frequently infectious material. “Someday” turned the room into what Kroeger described as a “big goddamn karaoke bar”, and concertgoers similarly knew every word to “Rockstar” and “How You Remind Me”. Recent singles like the funk-disco foray “She Keeps Me Up” and the politically-charged “Edge of a Revolution” held up nicely against the old material.

None of this would have been likely to win over the group’s many detractors, and those with an aversion to corporate rock would have been horrified. But for those who were looking to spend an hour and 40 minutes hollering along with some of the best-known rock songs of the 21st century, it did the trick. And what’s so bad about that?