|
|
Jump to BNL Reviews This is my little corner of the world dedicatedto the musical group, Barenaked Ladies,known in fan circles as BNL. Barenaked Ladies is my favorite band and the only band that Iam willing to travel great distances to see. Although I have been quite pleased with theirfrequency of visits to TX in recent months, that has simply not been enough for me, sofrom time to time, I have been known to hop a plane and jaunt to whatever city in whichthey might be playing. Since I go to so many of their shows, and many of them are outsideof Houston, I decided to create an area just to record these experiences. I have seen BNLin Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, New York, Dallas, Austin, Las Vegas, DeKalb,IL, Seattle, Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Washington, DC aswell as Houston. If you've heard of BNL, then you already know how great they are. If not,pull up a chair and learn more about them. Barenaked Ladies are five, typicallyfully-clothed men from Toronto, Ontario. They consist of Steven Page, vocals and guitar,Ed Robertson, acoustic and electric guitar and vocals, Jim Creeggan, bass guitar andstandup bass, Tyler Stewart, drums, and Kevin Hearn, keyboard and accordion, and guitar(Kevin is temporarily being replaced by Chris Brown while he recovers from Leukemiatreatments. Information on his condition can be found at the Friends of Kevin Hearn page). Their style ishard to describe succinctly because they are so diverse. They are generally an alternativepop/rock band with strong influences of country, jazz, and humor. Words like"eclectic" and "whimsical" are often used to describe them, but anysingular adjective does not do this group justice. Their live show is their signature,with an excellent mix of music, banter, jokes, silly songs, and seriousness. This is nonovelty act. BNL displays accomplished musicianship in every member. Their songs rangefrom the hard rocking to ballads, but all have interesting, clever, and sensitive lyrics,that can and have been interpreted on a variety of levels. The band has been togethersince 1988 when Steve and Ed played together at the Scarborough Music Camp (suburb ofToronto). Since then, the lineup has grown to include the others, with a slight personnelchange in 1995. Andrew Creeggan, the original keyboardist and brother of Jim, left theband to pursue higher education and was replaced by Kevin. If you would like to find outmore about the band, I have included a link to their site at Reprise Records, but a simpleInternet search in Yahoo will get you a plethora of BNL links. Although many of you may not have heard of BNL,trust me that there are fans the world over. This is one of music’s best keptsecrets. They don’t get a lot of traditional radio play on commercial stations in theUS and very little in Texas (although the popularity of "The Old Apartment" isstarting to change this). Don’t let the fickle media rule your taste. BNL has a songon the popular, Friends soundtrack, as well as having appeared on the most recent MightyDucks and The Coneheads. They are in an upcoming movie by Dave Foley of Kidsin the Hall fame, called The Wrong Guy and appeared on an episode of BeverlyHills 90210 in March. They’re a busy group. One of the great things about this band, outsideof their incredible talent and showmanship (there’s more), is their dedication andconsideration of their fans. BNL will go to great efforts to meet with fans, signautographs, have pictures taken, and even partake in some meaningful chats. They are themost friendly, regular guys that I have ever met, and I frequently have to stop and remindmyself of their vast accomplishments to completely appreciate this quality in them. Theyare huge in Canada, having won a Juno (their Grammy’s) in 1993 for Best Group. Theyhave received vast critical acclaim, and have appeared on countless Canadian TV shows aswell as several appearances on Conan O’Brien in the US. They have been touring anexhausting schedule since early 1996 and have visited just about every corner of the US,as well as their home country of Canada and in Europe. If you haven't already heard of them, I hope thatone day you’ll pick up the newspaper or turn on the radio and hear about a BNL showin your town, and because of these reviews, you’ll go check it out to see just whatI’m talking about. In the meantime, go out and buy "all" of their CDs, Gordon, Maybe You Should Drive, Born on a Pirate Ship, Shoebox (EP), andtheir most recent live effort, Rock Spectacle (pronounced Spek-tak, the frenchway). Several of their CDs have the added benefit of Multimedia CDROM which furtherprovides insight into the clever talent of this group. This is my tribute to the men that, no matterwhat they are wearing, are always barenaked in my mind...;-) Shows I have gone to,starting December 1996: A Barenaked Christmas, December 1996 Barenaked Ladies, Upstate NY 2/13/97 and 2/14/97 Barenaked Ladies, Las Vegas, April 4, 1997 Barenaked Texas Weekend, April 10-13, 1997 Midtown Festival, Atlanta, GA, May 3, 1997 Barenaked Ladies, Washington, DC, May 7, 1997 Barenaked Ladies, NC, May 31/June 1, 1997 Barenaked Ladies, Ziggy's, NC, June 14, 1997 Barenaked Ladies, Seattle, WA, August 13, 1997 Barenaked Ladies, Labor Day 1997, OH and MN Mixfest and Providence Radio Show Another Barenaked Christmas December 1997 Q101 Jamboree, Chicago, May 23, 1998 Preview of Stunt, by Steve Rosenberg, 99X BNL at HORDE Festival, Oklahoma City, July 15, 1998 HORDE Festival, Austin and Dallas, August 22/23, 1998 BNL in Vegas, Baby, Halloween 1998 Barenaked for the Very First Time, Texas, November 1998 BNL in 'Bama, December 8, 1998 Three Times The Ladies, Yet Another Barenaked Christmas,December 1998 On That Note, I'm outta here...... CYou are visitor # |
Search for your favorites at
|
