BWW Reviews: THE BARENAKED LADIES' 'Last Summer On Earth' Tour Gets Off To a Soggy Start

The Barenaked Ladies, the headlining act of The Last Summer on Earth Tour with Colin Hay and the Violent Femmes, have made a living off irony. The Canadian band of singer Ed Robertson, drummer Tyler Stewart, bassist Jim Creeggan and keyboardist Kevin Hearn churned out quirky hits "If I Had A Million Dollars," "Pinch Me," and "One Week."

Yet the band turned a blind eye to its own brand of caustic wit when opening its nearly two-month North American tour June 5 at the Lifestyles Community Pavilion in downtown Columbus. Three songs into their set, the band launched into "Odds Are" and Robertson sang "Struck by lightning, sounds pretty frightening but you know the chances are so small" as sheets of lightning flashed across the darkening city skyline.

Robertson and company laughed off the atmospheric conditions.

"We're going to keep rocking but we do have a strict no dying policy during our shows," Robertson said

"That," Stewart said, referring to a lightning flash, "is Mother Nature's way of saying she's a fan of the band."

If Mother Nature is a fan, she had an odd way of expressing it. As the band finished up "Brian Wilson" two songs later, the skies let loose a torrential downpour to send the band scurrying for drier conditions.

"Remember folks, safety first," Robertson joked as he was leaving the stage.

Eventually the band returned to the stage, with its soggy set list reduced from 18 songs to 14 with "You Runaway" being one of the causalities. By the time the band returned to the stage, only a hardy few remained at the LC.

The rain was a down beat to what had been a wonderful start to the tour.

Anchoring the middle slot was the Violent Femmes. Singer Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Brian Viglione wasted no time in digging into their catalog of hits, opening their set with "Blister In the Sun." The band hit all the high points of their 30 year career, knocking out killer versions of "American Music," "Gone Daddy Gone" and of course "Add It Up."

Colin Hay, the former front man for Men At Work, kicked started the show with seven-song set. Performing on a series of acoustic guitars, Hay sounded as good as he did 30 years ago. His stripped down versions of "Land Down Under," "Who It Can Be Now?" and the seminal hit "Overkill" were wonderful companion pieces to his solo work, which included soft readings of "Beautiful World," "If I Had Been A Better Man" and "Next Year People."

Ironically, his fourth song "Waiting In The Rain" turned out to be a sign for what was to come the rest of the evening.

To post a comment, you must register and login.