11

JANUARY 28, 2004

Nickelback Does Not Disappoint

lection of original

By Dan Thibeault

All those people who came to see a
Nickelback concert at the Multiplex
on Wednesday, January 21, were not
disappointed, as Nickelback did
indeed show up for a concert on that
particular night. And they did indeed

“The authenticity and
spontaneity of the
band’s showmanship is
unparalleled by that of
any other show I’ve
attended.”

put on a great show .. . I think this is
the first concert I have attended in
Prince George that actually started
early, which is unfortunate for me
because when the music started at 6:55
p-m., I was standing in line behind at
least one hundred other people wait-
ing to get in. And behind me there
were at least as many people again. By
the time the concert was over, howev-
er; few complaints were heard about
missing the first few minutes of the
opening act.

Three Days Grace’ stage prescnce
was as short-lived, as their sparse col-

This issue’s spotlight will look at onc
of the most unique regions in the
world: the Arctic. Although scientists
have been examining the Arctic for
decades, it has only been recently that
a formal learning institute was avail-
able to northern residents that directly
addressed their issues. It has been
because of this unique environment
that an even more distinctive learning
environment has been created.
UNBC students now have the oppor-
tunity to study on exchange in insti-
tutes of the Arctic.

THE ARCTIC

The Arctic is an amazing placc. For
millennia the landscape has been
shaped by ice, snow, sunlight and dark-
ness. The annual temperature fluctu-
ates between - 40/G and + 10J/C. The
Arctic can be defined by latitude
(Arctic Circle - 66/N 32/N), trecline
(transition zone between southern
forests and northern tundra), or the
July isotherm (area north of the region
that has a mean July temperature of
10/C). As tundra vegetation nourishes
sparse wildlife, flora will occasionally
remind the cye that beauty exists in the
extreme. Besides being rich in natural
resources, the Arctic is home to groups
of people who have cultured a life of
living in an intense environment. It
has been for the sake of this landscape

songs would allow.
They were intelligent
enough to include in
their line-up of songs
their two most recog-
nizable; “Just Like
You,” a song about
someone lead singer
Adam Gontier doesn’t
like, and “I Hate
Everything About
You,” probably about
a similar subject.
Staind followed, with
a similar approach to
Three Days Grace in
playing the most
famous songs in their
repertoire, including
“Outside,” the song
that got lead singer
Aaron Lewis on stage
with Fred Durst and
jump-started his
career, But since it’s well known that
opening bands arc judged based on
the numbcr of times they can make
the audience scream when they swear
at them and insult them, I think it’s fair
to say that both Staind and Three
Days Grace provided a very successful
opening.

~) Northern Spotlight
The Arctic is the

that people have come together from
different regions in the Arctic to form
the University of the Arctic.

NORTHERN STRENGTH

In June of 2001 the University of
the Arctic (UArctic) was created to

“Referred to as ‘a
university without walls”
the UArctic vision is as
unique as the environ-
ment it operates in.”

address the lack of educational and
rescarch opportunities for northern
residents. Referred to as “a university
without walls” the UArctic vision is as
unique as the environment it operates
in. Although the activities at the
UArctic are sustained and carricd out
in Rovanicmi, Finland at the
University of Lapland, a cooperative
network between universities, colleges
and other northern circumpolar orga-
nizations share resources, facilitics and
expertise, Residents in the Arctic
region can now access relevant train-
ing that addresscs their contemporary
realities such as integrated resource
management, climate change, cco-
tourism, ctc. Various programs are
offered including an undergraduate

As anyone would expect,
Nickelback stole the show., much like
Jack Nicholson did in A Few Good
Men or Benicio Del Toro did in
Traffic. This local product of the Back
Yard Barbecuc held in Prince George
in 1999 (as Iam reminded by the radio

Place to Be

degreé in’ Circumpolar Studies, and
the Circumpolar Mobility Program.

north2north

UNBC students will find the
north2north Student Mobility
Program of particular interest. The
north2north program offers UNBC
students the opportunity to study in
onc of 21 institutes, spread through-
out cight countries, partnered with
UArctic. The countries available to
UNBG students for exchange in the
north2north program are Finland,
Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Norway,
Iccland, and U.S.A. (Alaska).
Regardless of where participants
decide to study, the focus is directed
towards northern issucs and themes.

Candidates for the north2north
program have interests in the Arctic
region and are committed to con-
tributing to their northern commu-
nity. First Nations students are par-
ticularly interested in this program
because of the opportunities avail-
able to strengthening their voiccs in
northern communitics. Sharing sto-
rics and working with First Nations
communities in the Arctic is inherent
to the mission of the UArctic and its
north2north program; partnerships
form the foundation of creating collec-
tive solutions.

If the north is important to you,

pace conan
5 kane saciernd

NORTH.

at every available opportu-
nity) in fact acknowledged
their past here before get-
ting too far along in their
show. In typical
Nickelback style, they
encouraged the usc of
drugs that were alrcady
clearly rampant among
the members of the floor
crowd. Many of their
other antics, including
their collection of
women’s undergarments,
offering the audicnce alco-
holic beverages, and burn-
ing a blow-up sex doll on
stage were reminiscent of
the Matthew Good Band
at their conccrt in the sum-
mer of 2001. The most
notable difference is that
Chad Krocger’s actions at
this concert were com-
pletely unplanned. By the
end of the night they had at least
twenty bras hanging from the stand by
the drums, the first of which landed
there accidentally, starting the whole
phenomenon. The authenticity and
spontancity of the band’s showman-
ship is unparalleled by that of any
other show I’ve attended. Perhaps,

RUSSIA:

Murmansk

Yakutsk

+ University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska

then the north2north program is right
for you. Participants can travel to
another partner circumpolar institu-
tion for 3 to 12 months, depending on
the student’s necds and the host insti-
tutes structure. UNBC students also
have the opportunity to reccive a
mobility grant ($3,600 CAN.) as part
of the north2north program.
Interested? Visit

though, that says more of the breadth
of my experience rather than the qual-
ity of the show. Nonetheless, it is
doubtful many would disagree that
Nickelback put on a great live show
last night. In addition, they played a
bunch of songs.

“| was standing in line
behind at least one hun-
dred other people wait-
ing to get in. And
behind me there were
at least as many people
again.”

As a result of thcir 42-minute sell-
out in Prince Gcorge (or 16 minutes,
according to the band), Nick¢lback has
promised to return to the city at the
end of March. And while Pm sure
everybody loves Nickelback, and they
did indeed put on an amazing show
for a capacity crowd, it is questionable
how the tickets will sell for a second
show only two months after this onc. I
mean, this is Prince George, and
they’re not the Beatles. Right?

Murmansk Humanities Institute,

« Sakha State University of Russia,

FINLAND:
+ Kemi-Tornia Polytechnic,

SWEDEN: — ks

Lule’ University of
"Technology, dled
+ Urmed University, Umea

www.uarctic.org/north2north and
UNBC’s International Centre for
morc information.

Sources:
www.uarctic.org/overvicw,html
www.uarctic.org/north2north
Photo credit: University of the

Arctic Newsletter, Issue 12, Spring

2003.