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The 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", "Alternative
Girlfriend" (country version), "Jane", "The 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 "Pull
your 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 pleasant 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 set
list 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
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