Some Enchanted Evening - Barenaked in Albuquerque (Aug 11, 2001)
Aug 13 '01
The Bottom Line Barenaked Ladies are the best band on the planet, and everyone on the planet should see them perform live at least once.
The nickname for the state of New Mexico is The Land Of Enchantment. I'm sure that the person who came up with that, along with the members of the New Mexico legislature who approved it, had no idea how appropriate it would be on a summer's evening in 2001.
Our latest venture into Barenakedland was to attend the Albuquerque show on August 11 at the Journal Pavilion. As always, the fine folks at The Ladies Room helped out with the ticket purchase. This time my husband and I were to be joined by my sister, who recently became a member of the fan club, along with my 7-year-old niece.
The venue was an interesting place in itself. The Journal Pavilion is south of Albuquerque on I-25. It sits on a hill on the east side of the highway, and you follow a winding road to reach the parking lot. When you get to the top, it will look like you're about to pull up to one of the airport runways, and you can't even see the venue. We joked that it was all just a "stunt" and there was no show. But we got out of my sister's new Yukon anyway and walked in the same direction as everyone else. We finally reached a sidewalk, a long sloping one which wound down the hill. A large expanse of very green grass was there, too, and that looked like a shortcut to the seats. However, we had to go to the Will Call window to pick up our tickets, so we started our trek down the hill. We passed several checkpoints where college kids were getting wristbands that would allow them to purchase alcohol ("my permanent accessory / alcohol, a party-time necessity").
The oddest checkpoint was at the main gate though. Men and women (or, boys and girls, as the guards said) were to enter through separate gates. Everyone was patted down, lightly, and bags were checked for contraband. At the beginning of the Ladies' part of the show, an announcer stated that guests should refrain from using cameras, recording devices, and all that other stuff you would expect to be banned. After the first song though, it was clear that the announcer was part of BNL's show. He was still rattling off a list of things you couldn't use, and one of them was a Chinese Checkers game! Darn, and I had brought one, hoping to coax Ed off the stage for a game or two.
This leg of BNL's tour (Under Where? 2001) has reached venues and cities that the Ladies don't usually play. This was confirmed at the beginning of the show when Steve said that they had never played a solo concert there, just festivals. "Festival" describes the feeling at this particular show though. It was laid-back and fun, as I hope you'll realize as you read along.
We arrived at our seats, 2nd row center (Thank you, Ladies Room!), at exactly 7pm. Sarah Harmer (and her band) was being announced as we walked down the aisle. She seemed a bit timid and her music, while lyrical and pleasing, didn't do a lot for us. It didn't seem to do much for most of the people around us either as everyone was talking and moving about. My sister and I decided to go for drinks, so my husband sat with Olivia (the cute 7-year-old). Just as Shirley and I reached the walkway behind the seats, Sarah announced that Ed Robertson was going to sing the next song with her! My sister and I stopped dead in our tracks and just looked at each other. We laughed and both thought the same thing... do we keep going or turn around? We did turn around but realized that by the time we got back to our seats, Ed would likely be offstage again. So we just walked slowly toward the concession stands. Ed added a nice harmony to the song. He was very relaxed and casual, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and a floppy hat. I'd seen someone dressed that way near the right side of the stage before we left our seats. I commented that he looked like Ed. I haven't seen one of the guys wandering around before a show, now that they've hit the big-time, so it was a bit odd. Another testament to the "festival" feel of this show, and more will come.
We arrived back in our seats just as Sarah was ending her set. Then Ed returned. He mentioned that the stage crew would be setting up for the next set, and he commented on the bald guys working around him, and also on the weather. A brief storm had occurred earlier in the afternoon (just as we were heading to the hotel pool, as a matter of fact), so the crew had covered lots of the equipment with large pieces of plastic. Ed said that if you looked up in the sky, "it didn't look too bad in some places." He also mentioned that another band, Action Figure Party, was playing on a stage near the concessions. They offered a "money back guarantee", according to Ed. If you gave them money, they'd give you back a CD. We didn't trek over there, but I did look them up on the 'net when we got home. Greg Kurstin, formerly of Geggy Tah (and one of the guys who filled in while Kevin was sick), recently released an album full of jams with Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sean Lennon, Jose Pasillas of Incubus, Eminem, Dr. Dre and many more. I doubt they were all jamming under a tent at the Journal Pavilion though.
After the stage crew finished their work, the same guy who announced Harmer came back to announce the next act... The Proclaimers. I knew one of their songs ("I'm Gonna Be [500 Miles]"), but was surprised to learn they also have a new song on the Shrek soundtrack ("I'm On My Way"). For a band that averages about 7 years between releases, they were well-received by the crowd. And the reception they received for "I'm Gonna Be" was the same as if BNL had just stepped onto the stage. One of the most interesting parts of their set was watching Ed Robertson watch them perform. He was back, sitting on a stool under an equipment tent just offstage. It was obvious that he was enjoying the show, and when their set ended he gave them a round of applause as he ran off to get ready for his set. (On the drive home, I was reading Public Stunts and Private Stories, the new biography of BNL, and noticed one of the photos included in the photo album section showed a very young Ed wearing a Proclaimers t-shirt. He's obviously been a fan for a long time and was enjoying one of the first nights as The Proclaimers opened for BNL on this tour. I'm sure he had no idea when that photo was taken that someday they would open for his band!)
By 9pm, we were all getting restless and were ready for the Ladies to appear (as a group, even though Ed hanging around was fun). The crew began to set up for BNL and everything began to take shape. The large blow-up mask that appeared in the early shows for the Maroon tour was still there. However, the 2 large screens, which appeared to be held by the mask's "hands", had been replaced by 1 large screen. It was framed to look like a picture hanging on a wall, complete with a large thumbtack and string to hang it by. The raised areas for Tyler's drum set, Kevin's keyboards, and Jim's bass area were fronted with colorful, checkered boards. A large "B", "N", and "L" were strung up in the rafters. We'd seen the large, lighted "BNL" sign on the Stunt tour, but these were detached letters so we wondered if they were going to come flying down from the "ceiling", possibly with Steve hanging from one.
Finally, the lights went off and the previously-mentioned announcer began reciting that list of items you weren't allowed to use. Then the guys came onto the stage to rousing applause and cheers from the crowd. It was time to stand, and we never sat down again until we returned to the Yukon more than 2 hours later.
The first song was "Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank" from the 1996 album, Born On A Pirate Ship. For those of you who don't know, this song was inspired by events surrounding a man who was stalking Anne Murray. The band has stated that the song is not specifically about her, but some of the lyrics reference lyrics from a couple of her songs. This song set the tone for a night of nostalgia for Barenaked Ladies fans. It was like listening to a Greatest Hits CD (which will be released in November!). As all fans know, not every song you like can be performed at every show, but BNL did a great job hitting all the highlights this particular night. I've listed the songs, in no particular order, at the end of this review. Noticeably absent were "Jane" and "Call and Answer", but "Light Up My Room" and "I Live With It Every Day" took their place.
Not to be forgotten are the raps and bantering, which many fans enjoy just as much as their favorite songs. At one point, Ed was fiddling with a band-aid on his right arm, just below his wrist. He said he had cut his arm the night before and realized it was going to bother him when he played guitar. Steve asked what happened, and he calmly told a story about how he'd been walking along a Denver street, talking on his cell phone. He came upon a couple of guys having an argument, and then it turned into a fight. He tried to break it up, and one of them drew a knife and cut his arm. He then undid the bandage to show everyone, and we all said "awwww" as he revealed the small cut. Knife fight, indeed! Ed then admitted that he had been trying to open a Playstation game on the bus, and it cut him. Now, that's more like Ed!
Later, Ed mentioned a football that had been given to Kevin by the Albuquerque Marines prior to the show. Ed said he could just imagine the scene when the Marines went to their C.O. to discuss giving Kevin a gift. Standing very straight and tall and in his best Marine voice, Ed played the part of a recruit explaining why they would give Kevin a gift covered with inspirational messages but that they felt it should be a soft (Nerf) football because Kevin might not be up to full strength yet and they wouldn't want to hurt him.
The Greatest Hits CD I mentioned before will include at least 2 new songs, and one of them is called "The Wizard Of Magic Land." I enjoyed hearing it for the first time at this show, and it was obvious that several people around me had heard it before as they were singing along just as if the guys were doing "Brian Wilson". I was jealous, but I'll be ready next time. The set-up to the song was typical BNL though. Ed stated that there is a fashion trend sweeping the US and Canada. When a new song is performed at any concert, women must show their boobies and guys must drop their pants. A few women near us looked somewhat anxious to oblige, but the guys in the audience were too busy looking for women who might participate instead of doing their part.
The highlight of our evening, particularly for Olivia, was during "Pinch Me". Earlier this summer, I had read a "Rolling Stone" blurb to my sister in which Steve talked about the underwear which people throw onto the stage during "Pinch Me". He said he particularly likes it when people throw Scooby-Doo Underoos because his son likes them. So, Shirley set out to find some Saturday afternoon. She was unsuccessful, but she did find Blue's Clues Underoos! She wadded up a pair from the package (the rest will go to my 2-year-old nephew), and stuck them into her jacket. No one at that checkpoint questioned why she had little boys' underpants in her pocket though. Hmmmm....
Anyway, just as Ed sang, "I could hide out under there," the crowd yelled, "Under where?" (or "Underwear"... same thing) as has become standard operating procedure during live performances of "Pinch Me." My sister did her best impression of her hero, Nolan Ryan, and flung those babies right smack onto center stage between Ed and Steve. The woman behind her had fished a bright green bra from her purse, which landed right at Ed's feet. The look on Steve's face as he pondered the Blue's Clues underwear was priceless. He picked them up and draped them across the end of his guitar. Ed picked up the green bra, and Kevin appeared from his usual keyboard perch and picked up another colorful pair of underwear to adorn his guitar, too. Steve walked down to the far left end of the stage, and the underwear kept falling off his guitar. He'd pick it up, play a few bars, and they'd fall off again. After about 4 tries, he finally picked them up and stuck them in his mouth. Olivia thought it was hilarious, and my sister and I high 5'ed each other.
Our monkey toss didn't go as well. Instead of throwing Kraft Dinner, we decided to throw a small stuffed monkey when they sang the line, "Haven't you always wanted a monkey?" during "$1,000,000". Shirley got the little guy up onto stage, and Steve smiled. But, later in the song Ed punted him into the crowd. He managed to land in our row though, and the girls next to Shirley passed him back down. During one of the encores, Shirley again attempted to get him onto the stage, but he landed in the pit between the front row and the stage, nearly hitting a cameraman. She coaxed a security guard into giving it back after the show, so he's sitting here waiting for his next trip to a BNL show, and maybe next time he'll be treated with more respect.
Although the set list below isn't in exact order, I do know the encore songs are correct. I was especially entertained by the guys' slow-motion exit after the first encore. The lighting effect and the Ladies' silliness combined to make it look like they really were walking out in slow motion. They blew kisses to the audience and mugged for the camera. Tyler, on the far left, was to be the last one to leave the stage. Jim turned around and (slowly) waved for him, and Tyler mouthed (slowly), "I'm coming!" I have no idea how they were able to do this so convincingly, but I do know it was hilarious.
Other things I'll remember from this show include: Steve sitting on the "L" at the beginning of "Some Fantastic", which had been lowered during "Alcohol"; the eye contact I made with Ed, or which I'll believe I made with Ed until the day I die; doing the "Chicken Dance" at the end of "One Week", which I haven't done since I attended an Oktoberfest many years ago; and the rap after Steve and Ed kissed. It was one of the most outrageous ones I've ever heard them do. Steve referred to firm French tongues, and Ed's verse was very explicit about his feelings for Steve, ending with the line "Are you uncomfortable now?" being repeated several times. Another priceless moment in an exceptional show.
After a good night's sleep full of thoughts of the show, we had a 600+ mile drive back to Dallas. Did you know you can listen to each BNL CD twice, plus one Dave Matthews CD once during a 600-mile drive?
My sister is ready for the next show. My husband will go along for the ride. And I'm *always* ready to see Barenaked Ladies perform live! When does the next tour start?
-------------------------------------------------
Set list (not in performance order)....
Straw Hat And Old Dirty Hank
The Old Apartment
Pinch Me
Light Up My Room
Break Your Heart
I Live With It Every Day
Alcohol
Some Fantastic
Jim's Solo + Tyler's Drum Corps March
Never Do Anything
The Wizard Of Magic Land
Get In Line
One Week + Chicken Dance + Big Guys Kissing
Falling For The First Time
Too Little Too Late
If I Had $1,000,000 + Barenaked Rap
Encore #1...
It's All Been Done
Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At The Wheel
Encore #2...
Brian Wilson
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
shmoopie13
|
|
Member: Leslie
Location: Texas
Reviews written: 55
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
Avid fan of hockey and Barenaked Ladies. Postcard collector. Traveler.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.