Since I have a few moments I'd better write a review of the incredible show I saw last night, Barenaked Ladies. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the band, let me put to rest any notion that there are unclothed women onstage. This is a quintet of young men who are very fine musicians.
This was my first Barenaked Ladies show, and I truly regret having never gotten to see them before. This band has such obvious depth, I feel certain that they make every show unique, a task few bands are capable of.
Upon arriving at the Riviera, (without a ticket), I had a kind of bad feeling that tickets would be very hard to find. I was right. There were at least 30 people, (probably more than 50), looking intently for tickets. I spent 15 or 20 minutes approaching people, cars and cabs, trying to find a ticket. Eventually, I gave up, deciding to go home and get a ticket from a friend of mine who I knew would be able to resolve the matter. I got a ticket, went back, and with a little trepidation, got in.
The Riviera was sold out to a level not equalled by many shows, obviously people had pulled strings to get in. I worked my way to the middle of the first tier behind the main floor, and eventually convinced myself that I would make it to the front if I just tried, I made it to fourth row, center. Always best to be up front!
People around me were discussing the difficulty they had had in finding tickets, little did they know! One guy said he had paid $75 for his ticket. Including the $15 he paid for parking he was out $90 just to get in the door.
The band was obviously in exceptional form and loving the extraordinary crowd response. I have just purchased two BNL cds this week so I didn't have as good of a grasp on all the songs as I would have liked to. I do know they played many songs off of "Gordon" and "Born on a Pirate Ship". Here are a few: Hello City, The Old Apartment, $1,000,000, Be My Yoko Ono, Blame it on Me, Brian Wilson, and others. I also recognized Alternative Girlfriend(not on Gordon or Born on a Pirate Ship), More than this, what made the show so specatular was the stuff they did between songs.
What I recall is the band talking about all the holidays being celebrated. Steven said he celebrated Salt and Peppa Day, and the band went into a wild version of an S and P song.
Another entertaining moment was when Ed talked about getting a massage before the show. The band chided him and made remarks about how he was coming out of the closet tonight because his masseuse was a man. BNL took a moment to the dedicate the evening to all the men who would join the mass "coming out of the closet".
Ed also mentioned that before the show he had accomplished something amazing by eating Mexican Food without overeating. This being a real problem for myself, it really struck a chord. Very funny!
He also talked about what he likes to do when he visits Chicago, walk along Clark street by Diversey. Evidently there is a used bookstore he makes a point to visit every time through. The man who owns it is known to be very angry and unhelpful. Ed stops by and browses just to get the chance to hear him talk to his customers. Sounds like a place worth avoiding.
Later in the show, Ed and Steven were giving Jim, the bass player a hard time about being sick. Ed shared the fact that Jim always eats numerous cloves of garlic when he is ill. He demonstrated the effect Jim has on you at those times. You walk in a room and before he says a complete syllable you may be down on the floor, (Ed fell to the floor to demonstrate this.).
Included in the two hour set was quite a bit of rapping by both Steven and Ed. They did a great job for two Canadian white boys! They both improvised rap songs. Unfortunately, I don't recall the topics of either at the moment. Take my word, these guys are very adept with the English language.
Not only were we treated to rap, the band, lead by Steven, did a few moving(?) ballads. Steven has a versatile and wonderful voice. Every member of the band has a voice worthy of note.
Each band member sang and spoke at least a little between songs, also. It is very evident that these guys are good friends. Their personalitys gel like no other band I've ever seen. I have always said, and now put it in writing, whenever the audience gives the band a great reception, the set will be better than with mixed crowd response. Conversely, I noticed that I was positively influenced by the band's happiness and enthusiasm. I guess it works both ways.
Did I mention the stage set? The tour is called The Barenaked Winter Tour. The set was like a white Christmas. There were 5 giant 3D snowflakes hanging above the stage. Surrounding the band were seven, 6- foot, white Christmas Trees, some even adorned with strings of multicolored lights. It was a winter wonderland.
The band's appreciation of the warm response was shown by their long, (by many groups' standards), set and the fact that they did three encores of at least two songs each. It seems the standard has become one or two of late. After each set, the band walked up to the crowd and shook hands and said thank you. They made genuine contact and said (apparently) genuine thanks on a very personal level with the fortunate few in the first 3 rows.
BNL said that they will be back in the summer with a new album and tour. They will be part of the H.O.R.D.E. tour with Blues Traveller and Ben Harper. I can only hope that I get to see them one more time at a nice small venue like Chicago's Riviera.