Barenaked Ladies: July 21, 2001 Tweeter Center, Mansfield, Mass
Jul 31 '01
The Bottom Line One word describes a BNL show: F-U-N
Back in May, when tickets went on sale for the two latest Barenaked Ladies shows here in Massachusetts (they only seem to come here 3X a year), I actually finally decided to go see them. Everything I had heard about their live act was extremely positive. A friend of mine said it "was one of the most fun concerts" he had ever experienced. And so, just over a week and a half ago, I made the trek down to the Tweeter Center (better known to Massachusetts people as Great Woods) to experience BNL live.
There are two things you should know before I continue:
1)The Boston area is by far the most popular market in America for these guys. They could've sold out the Tweeter Center 2 years before Brian Wilson and One Week became popular.
2)Parking at the Tweeter Center sucks out loud, and that alone is half the reason I don't like to make the 40 minute drive down there.
Luckily I bought my tickets through a pre-sale. I ended up in the next to last row of the pavillion, but I wasn't going to complain. Pavillion seats for BNL, second to last row or not, is nothing to sneeze at here.
The other thing I did was pay $20 for parking in one of the lots adjacent to the Tweeter Center. I'll tell you right now: it was the most stress free and quick exit I've ever had after a show. Show ended at 11pm or so, I was in my car and on the highway at 11:30.
Onto the show
There were two opening acts, although only one had been announced. The first was Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer. She came across at times like a wannabe Ani DiFranco without nearly the punch, and at others, she seemed like a wannabe Sarah McLachlan, without the interesting melodies and nice wordplay. In other words, she was very boring for the most part. However, it should be noted that amphitheatres probably aren't the best place for her sound, and she may seem a whole lot better in a club.
The second opening act was Vertical Horizon. All my preconceptions about this band were totally wrong. They aren't a crappy, hook happy pop rock band. That's what they want you to believe. They tried to hook the crowd in early with You're a God, only to fail once they started playing their material that has more of an edge to it. To see these guys try to play as if they're Led Zeppelin (as far as the volume factor goes) was quite funny. Alas, after YAG, the crowd didn't care about them again until the closing Everything You Want. Yuck, I really wish BNL had taken Guster along like they had on their winter tour that I unfortunately missed.
Finally, the lights went down again and out walked BNL. Truth be told I'm not very familiar with their material. I own Rock Spectacle, Stunt and their latest, Maroon, but none of them have truly captivated me into months of listening. Luckily, BNL mixed up their set well, playing all the songs everyone knows with a good selection of album tracks for the die hard fans.
After the opening Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank, the band ripped right into The Old Apartment and Pinch Me, which roused the audience from the sedate groove the evening had offered thus far.
They interjected comedy bits off an on all night long. The Chicken Dance was cool, but their 10 minute running joke on electronic dogs had me in tears I was laughing so hard. It's important to note that while Steven Page and Ed Robertson are the main pranksters, drummer Tyler Stewart showed no hesitance to get into the act.
Improv is a huge part of BNL's show. It is what makes them such a must see live act. Sure, they joke and laugh, and they want their audience to do the same thing. But heartfelt numbers like Tonight Is the Night I Fell Asleep At the Wheel showed that they definitely have a talent for serious songwriting.
The band did play a new song, the energetic Wizard of Magic Land that in all likelihood is the band's first hit off of whatever their next record is. The crowd seemed to love it, and it was just a song you can dance to. Just fun, which was the key word for the whole show.
By the time the band got to the traditional set closing If I Had a $1,000,000, you could tell they were thrilled to be back in Boston, even if earlier they had joked that they "always just seem to miss Boston on our tours." The top 40 melody included Lady Marmalade, Sugar Ray's When It's Over, and lastly, a hilarious take on Destiny Child's Bootylicious. Watching the 5 of them dance like Destiny Child was worth the price of my ticket alone.
The encores included the rambuctious It's All Been Done and the great big sing along of a closer, Brian Wilson.
I have to say I wouldn't hesitate to see these guys again. Even if you aren't a Barenaked Ladies fan, I think it's safe to say you would have an excellent time at their show, which gets my highest concert recommendation of the year, U2 excluded.
Barenaked Ladies setlist for 7/21/01, Mansfield MA
(way out of order and probably incomplete)
Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank
The Old Apartment
Pinch Me
Jane
Falling for the First Time
One Week into The Chicken Dance
Wizard of Magic Land (new song)
no less than 3 improv "songs"
Too Little Too Late
Alcohol
Get In Line
Helicopters
It's All Been Done
Brian Wilson
Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep At the Wheel
Some Fantastic
If I Had A $1,000,000
Shoe Box
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Member: Matt Aucoin
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