Reviewer : Vanessa Monaghan
Photographer : Kieran Frost
Barenaked Ladies at The Olympia Theatre – September 26th 2010
Think Canada. Think Maple Syrup. Think Ice Hockey. Think Barenaked Ladies, the Canadian rock band who brought their brand of comedic rock to Dublin this weekend. Not to be confused with bare naked ladies or non clothed females, who my companion for the evening thought we were going to oogle.
Warming up the chilly September evening was Boothby Graffoe, just one man and his guitar, who knows how to entertain. Quirky lyrics and a great on stage presence means the crowd are easily in the palm of his hand. He is joined on stage for a couple of tunes by BNL bass player Jim Creeggan. The pair make the most of the acoustic guitar/bass combination on stage and its obvious they have a great rapport. Special mention must go to ‘Ballad of the Budgie’, a track about a stalker story gone wrong which ends with feathers splattered across the stage. They are joined by other Barenaked Ladies for ‘Let’s Hop’, a poor unfortunate is picked upon in the audience, while everyone.. well, hops! Half stand up comedian, half singer songwriter, Graffoe is a seriously funny guy with a fantastic ability to command his audience.
Barenaked Ladies come back to the stage for their own set to roars of approvals. While many may just know the band for their hit ‘One Week’, they seem to have a loyal following.
The set starts off with ‘Who Needs Sleep’ and ‘The Old Apartment’ before singer Ed Robertson addresses the audience. The set is littered with light hearted banter, thanking the crowd for coming to the opening and closing night of their Irish tour and for choosing to go see Michael Bublé on the previous night.
Although BNL have been on the road for 22 years, only two of the original members remain, not that you would notice the difference. They have a happy go lucky attitude and have fun on stage which is easily transferred to the audience.
There are a few things that set BNL live shows apart from a regular rock show. Improv raps and dance are a major part of the show. Early in the set, Robertson raps an introduction to the band with a mash up of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, before playing current single ‘Every Subway Car’.
Drummer Tyler Stewart comes from behind his kit for the first time for ‘The Sound of Your Voice’ a barbershop quartet styled song led by keyboardist Kevin Hearn. It’s these little highs that make Barenaked Ladies different from everyone else. While the highs of the night are high, there are some low points too. ‘Another Heartbreak’ and ‘You Run Away’ both songs from their new album ‘All in Good Time’ seem to fall flat.
The song ‘Four Seconds’, complete with a circus style break, from the same album, shines with a quirkiness we’ve come to expect from BNL. Without these, Barenaked Ladies would just be another rock band.
Best reactions so far come from ‘Eraser’, from their children’s album, with a held note that would rival Bill Withers and ‘If I had a $1,000000’ giving the audience a chance to raise their voices. By the end of ‘Pinch Me’, more underwear has been thrown on stage than was ever thrown at a Joe Dolan show.
Best reactions that is until they introduce the theme tune from The Big Bang Theory, which is quickly followed by the superb ‘One Week’. The band end their set with a song and dance routine of ‘Oh Oh Oh It’s Magic’ with a few lines of ‘Empire State of Mind’ and ‘California Gurls’ for good measure.
The obligatory ‘walk off to stretch the legs’ before the encore follows. Ed Robertson and Tyler Stewart swap drum/vocal spots for ‘Alcohol’. Stewart quickly becomes the star of the show while showing of his vocal range and front man qualities. A man of Jack Black stature, he is the man Jack Black tried and failed to be in School of Rock. Stewart is a lovable, larger than life character with dodgy dance moves, a Kojak head and a Freddie Mercury moustache. My new hero.
Barenaked Ladies are a niche quirky band with a comedic style and execute this very well. It’s this comedic values that make their live show more appealing and make them slightly different. A BNL gig is a good night out. The music was good and I laughed my bag off. My friend ? Well he didn’t even miss his lapdance.
