Canadian imports set to hit Spokane

Two of Canada’s most decorated musical imports are coming to town, and that’s about all they have in common.

While arena rock giant Nickelback brings its perpetual world tour to the 10,000-plus-seat Spokane Arena on Wednesday, folk-rock legend Bruce Cockburn comes to the more intimate 800-seat Bing Crosby Theater on Sunday.

With nearly 30 albums in his discography – including 20 certified gold and platinum records – and numerous awards and honors, Cockburn announced last week that HarperOne and HarperCollins Canada are preparing to publish his memoir.

Cockburn is widely regarded for his commitment to social activism and spirituality through his musical and cultural contributions.

Last month the Earth Day Canada 2010 Outstanding Commitment to the Environment was awarded to Cockburn, who has been passionately outspoken on environmental issues throughout his four-decade career.

It was also announced this month that Cockburn will headline Toronto’s nine-day Luminato Festival in June, where he will be joined by several musicians who will be paying tribute to the Canadian Music Hall of Famer’s career by performing covers of his work.

Confirmed artists so far include Hawksley Workman, Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies, Michel Rivard and jazz guitarist Michael Occhipinti.

Over the years Cockburn’s music has been covered by a wide array of artists, including Barenaked Ladies, Jimmy Buffett, Ani DiFranco, Vigilantes of Love and k.d. lang.

“That’s one of the interesting parts of it, collaborating with people on their versions of my songs,” he said in a news release.

Where Cockburn is celebrated for his lyrical depth and passion for the human experience, Nickelback has grown a legion of fans through a consistent stream of songs largely celebrating liquor and lust.

A band that Rolling Stone called “critic proof,” Nickelback is still fanning the flames of its highly successful 2008 album, “Dark Horse.”

Despite being repeatedly slammed by critics, the band continues to sell records by the millions and pack arenas around the globe, an increasingly rare feat in the ongoing music industry drought.

Released in late 2008, “Dark Horse” is the follow-up to the octuple-platinum “All the Right Reasons.” More than a year after its release, it remains in the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Over the course of 2009, “Dark Horse” went double-platinum in the U.S. and five times platinum in Canada, and Nickelback extended its current world tour.

The post-grunge quartet signed a three-album deal with concert promoter Live Nation that was reportedly worth $50 million to $70 million. And Billboard named Nickelback “band of the decade” in December.

Meanwhile the Nickelback-lash has grown along with the band’s success, making it simultaneously one of the most loved and most hated groups in mainstream music.

Entertainment Weekly declared “Dark Horse” a marvel of low art. Toronto alternative news pub NOW Magazine called the album a “soundtrack for date rapists … where songs touch on familiar themes like strippers, sex, prostitutes, drugs, sex, drinking and sex.”