Thursday, August 22, 2013

137 – B.N. Ladies – Tuesday, July 30, 2013 – Prospect Park Bandshell – Brooklyn, NY

My first Barenaked Ladies concert was way better than expected.  Here are some reasons why: 

--- Frontman Ed Robertson had talent.  It was like listening to a professional guitarist, vocalist, and standup comedian all in one.

--- “Did I Say That Out Loud” had great lyrics: “I don't know what's got a hold of me: not alcohol, not alchemy, [it’s] greater than gravity.”

--- “Pinch Me” was soothing, as was “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” the first song they ever released. 

--- Ed Robertson’s voice was so clear.  This clarity helped him even more whenever he rapped.  My frustration at every rap show I’ve been to so far has been how many words get lost live.  This never happened with Robertson, not during “One Week,” his impromptu Brooklyn rap, or the “Big Bang Theory Theme Song.”  (The full theme song, by the way, is way longer than it is in the show.)

--- So many funny lines: “It is great to be in the fabled land of Brooklyn.  I'm always seeing you in trendy shows with your handmade cutlery…I must pause and do the Sound of Music test on this piano…This entire stage seems drenched in hamburger whiff…I had a nerdgasm last week when Stephen Hawking quoted us! ”

--- My only regret was that I did not know songs like “Gonna Walk,” “Keepin’ It Real,” and “Odds Are” as well as I should have, but I can correct that next show.

--- They performed “Brian Wilson” at almost 9:30 on a Tuesday night – which is an exact line from the song!

--- “If I Had A Million Dollars” featured Ben Folds and a funk-out finale.  The best part was the guy in the row behind me, singing every line, shouting how he was back to being a senior in high school – he was back to 1999!

--- One super-size song in the encore incorporated “Trouble,” “Thrift Shop,” “Scream and Shout,” “Titanium,” and “Blinded by the Light.”  They played all this while literally batting monkeys and other stage props back and forth with their guitars?!  Early on in the show, Robertson said that his fellow guitarist “put the pro in Prospect Park.”  After listening to the encore, I’d say that applied to the whole band…  

Grade: A- 

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