By Chris Varias
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Today's radio-friendly hard rock is so dull, the degrees of dullness must be measured in a comparative manner when critiquing its practitioners.

For example, 3 Doors Down compares favorably to Creed. The band boasts a better single in "Kryptonite" than anything Scott Stapp's crew has ever recorded, and 3 Doors Down is lacking any sort of messianic complex.

From there, dullness dominates the discussion. 3 Doors Down played a brand of hard rock as watered down as both the domestic light beer and the corporate radio station that co-sponsored the group's concert Sunday at Bogart's.

That's not to say the show, which sold out long before Sunday, was awful. There was that above-mentioned hit song, plus a few other not-terrible singles that have followed, such as "When I'm Gone," which recently received two Grammy nominations (best rock song" and "best rock performance by a duo or group").

But there wasn't anything very special about it, either.

The show was just sort of there, laid forth unremarkably in a rather brief 75 minutes. What distinguishes 3 Doors Down's crunchy, poppy hard rock from Creed's, or Nickelback's, or Default's?

The one thing it could be is Brad Arnold's lyrics, although singing about personal pain isn't exactly a means of cornering the rock market. However, Arnold was so steadfast in his sorrow Sunday, it was noteworthy.

"This world cannot bring me down 'cause I'm already here," Arnold sang. Another song was about "spreading yourself too thin," he said. Other selections were titled "Down Poison," "Going Down in Flames," "Better Life" and "Not Enough."

But "Loser" was the night's topper. Anyone who can sing the chorus "cause I'm a loser" with a straight face, and then add the line "this is getting old" without a hint of irony this long after the Becks and the Radioheads and the Nirvanas of the world exhausted the subject is serious about his angst.

E-mail cvarias@enquirer.com