| Barenaked Ladies descended on Texas on Thursday, April 10 with plans for shows in Houston, Austin, and Dallas before the weekend was out. Being a huge BNL fan and a Texas resident, this would be considered my version of heaven. To steal from a beer commercial,"It just doesn't get any better than this." For those of you accessing this page from the Music Review link, let me direct you to the Barenaked Corner, which is my little place on the web dedicated to BNL. There you can find much more information on the band and descriptions of shows I've seen outside of TX. The long weekend started off with an instore performance at Cactus Music and Video on Shepperd in Houston on Thurs. at noon. The nice folks at Popeye's supplied chicken and biscuits, but unfortunately, did not think to save some for the band. The guys had a good time with chicken and finger-lickin' jokes at the start of the set. They played only six songs, but sounded amazing and gave a real taste of their humor and showmanship to get everyone ready for the full length shows to come. This event was sponsored by The Buzz (who also sponsored the Austin show), but Steve managed to slide in a plug for the Houston Earth Day event that was being sponsored by KRBE. The songs played were "Shoebox", "Hello City", "AlternativeGirlfriend" (country version), "Jane", "Old Apartment", and"Brian Wilson". Suspiciously missing was the almost obligatory "If I had$1M". I'm wondering if this is a trend that will be carried into future shows. The banter of the show was classic BNL. A CD store provides miles of joking humor, as the guys indicated that it would be easy to steal things while they distracted the staff. Also, Ed discussed a contest for their new album cover with the winners being posters of CDs that Cactus had hanging overhead. Ed indicated that they would take a vote, but to keep in mind that the CD would be called "Spice". They proceeded into a rendition of "If You Want To Do Our Artwork" in Spice Girl fashion and then described how each one of them had a Spice Girls counterpart. Another short, but notable, comment was Kevin pointing out that his microphone was different than everyone elses' and that he could make wacky shapes with his. Ed said he had gotten it special for him, and we all cracked up when Kevin said "This is the best Christmas ever". Well, they were off to a great start, but the full length show in Austin was up next. A little inclement weather in the morning caused the venue change to the Steamboat on 6th St. instead of the Backyard, which is an outdoor venue. The Odds were on tour with BNL once again, and played a great set and got the crowd ready. BNL came onstage with "Hello City" and the crowd was already singing along. They played acoustic versions of"Yoko" and "Enid" before moving back into their regular format for the rest of the show (see setlist). The banter consisted of a bad BBQ experience that they had had earlier that day, their first trip to the US for SXSW in 1991, a Devil's Haircut rendition based on a Kid N Play reference, a few Beatles jokes due to a poster in the venue coupled with a BBQ song to the tune of "Imagine", and finally remarking that they would be in Houston the next day at Buffalo Nugget (really Bayou) Park with special guests Wang Chung. They lit into a version of Love Shack,replacing "love" with "Wang", and then Steve impressed everyone with knowing every word to "Dance Hall Days". "$1M" made it's way back into the show during the 1st encore, and they closed up with "Shoebox" and left the crowd begging for more. So, two days of BNL and I am exhilarated, yet exhausted. I made the mistake of driving back to Houston and getting home at 5am (after getting a speeding ticket in the lovely speedtrap of Elgin, TX). The next day, I had about 20 people meeting at my place at noon to go to the KRBE Earth Day Festival in downtown Houston. We get there, missing the opening act of Erykah Badu, but obviously not missing much, as we are told that she did two songs and left the stage due to an incorrect tape. Next was Wang Chung who played a whopping four songs to a backing tape, two of which were different versions of"Everybody Have Fun Tonight". The guitarist was not even plugged in for the electric numbers (and there was no wireless antenna to be found, either). Needless to say, the crowd was ready to be entertained by the time BNL came on. I am guessing that there were a couple thousand in the crowd, most of which were there for Toad the Wet Sprocket or had just stopped by because it was a nice day. BNL hit the stage and played the majority of their normal set, making cracks about Earth Day, and had the crowd chanting "Pullyour underwear out of your crack for the good of the earth". Everyone was dancing and there was a lot more singing along than I had expected here in the deep south. When they closed with "Barenaked Rap" everyone was cheering for an encore, but the festival format did not allow it. I personally feel that BNL made a dramatic impact on lots of people who had never heard of them before!!! Friends of mine that were big Toad the Wet Sprocket fans commented that, although a talented performance, Toad didn't have a chance after BNL's energy and showmanship. Got a pretty good night's sleep on Saturday and then off to Dallas for the Deep Ellum Show. Once again the Odds were back and this was their last night touring with BNL, so you know something crazy and wonderful would happen. After a mixup at the airlines for some of their equipment, the Odds hit the stage using some of BNLs stuff and thanking BNL's staff and crew for their cooperation. The Odds have some really great songs, and I would really recommend their CD Nest which has "Someone Who Is Cool", "Make You Mad", and "Nothing Beautiful", all very clever pop songs that range from the hard edge to ballads. Changing pace a bit, as they have been doing at every show since Las Vegas, they also did a cool cover of the 50s song "Only the Lonely", announcing that they are rehearsing for the day when they become a wedding band. Complete with acoustic guitar (Craig Northey) and warbled vocals (Steven Drake) the only things missing from this image are the powder blue tuxedos with ruffled shirts. Also,during one number, Ed joined the drummer, adding a new percussion element with a tambourine and stick. For a few short moments, Steve and Jim dashed on stage and danced naked behind Ed. They were covered mostly by the drums and Ed, but the crowd definitely got the message. During several other songs, extra voices could be heard as Ed and Steve were backstage goofing around with a microphone. It's cool to see the opening band and headliner getting along so playfully. BNL came on to a raving crowd and did pretty much the same setlist as the Austin show. Craig from the Odds added backing vocals for one song,"This is Where it Ends". Lots of the banter had to do with Steve commenting on the fact that he didn't have his real penis that night, that he was using a smaller replica and that the original was in a safe deposit box. He threw the banter to Ed who made up this song about his dad throwing him out at age 12, and how "business men would pay top dollar for someone his age". After Steve made a dramatic leap from Tyler's drum rise to the main stage, Tyler launched into the entire Van Halen's"Jump" before passing out on the floor and being covered with a Canadian flag."$1M" found Steve wearing a green dress and dropping his pants and Ed in a monkey mask lifting the skirt to show Tyler Steve's butt. The show ended with "Shoebox" as the second encore, as per the usual BNL outing. All in all, a very memorable set of shows and a wonderfully exhausting weekend. If only all weekends were this cool, but I think that would be more fun than human beings are allowed to have. I should have my fill of them, but guess what? I've already got plans to see them in Atlanta on May 3rd (Midtown Festival)and North Carolina on May 31st and June 1st. I'm glad to see BNL getting so much attention this far south. Seeing them and hearing them on the radio certainly makes living in Texas more fun. On That Note, I'm outta here...... C |
