Canada’s Barenaked Ladies join a list of impressive musical talent that have recorded live releases at this prestigious amphitheatre on the outskirts of Denver (U2, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Depeche Mode, Stevie Nicks) and show that even if their last two studio records haven’t exactly set the world on fire, they are still a magnetic live act. Messers Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart, Kevin Hern and Jim Creegan have always executed an engaging live performance and even without co-founder Steven Page, BLN still possess a magical chemistry on stage.
When Robertson can get the crowd to sing along to an obscure number “Gonna Walk” (“If you see someone not singing – they are racist!”) you know they have something going and when they can string four songs together like “Pinch Me”, “Big Bang Theory”, “One Week” and “If I Had A Million Dollars” to end their regular set , it’s a recipe that can’t fail.
It should also be noted that songs like “Get Back”, “Odds Are” and “Passcode” may not have worked on their own as singles but they still fit effortlessly into the band’s live set.
BNL are also adept at utilizing their opening acts bringing out Men At Work’s Colin Hay to sing “Who Can It Be Now” replete with sax solo from Violent Femme’s Blaise Garza and that BNL humour is still evident during Robertson’s funny advice to kids during “If I Had a Million Dollars” and their faux punk ode to kids on “Drawing”.
And to show BLN can rock, they encored this 16-song set with a blazing cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock N Roll”.
[styled_box title=”BNL – One Week” color=”black”][/styled_box]