Yesterday evening’s Barenaked Ladies concert

Yesterday evening’s Barenaked Ladies concert was amazing

Support act: The Lilac Time (Stephen (formerly “TinTin”) Duffy). He started off playing a slow song on his own, with just an acoustic guitar. For the next one, Steve from the BNL joined him on backing vocals, then a few songs later, Jim, Kevin, and Tyler came on stage, too. Ed was the last to fall in, and they kicked the whole thing up a gear with an up-tempo version of Duffy’s 1985 hit “Kiss Me.” There was a break of about 25 minutes before the BNL came back on, all dressed in simple patterned shirts and black trousers.

Main Set:

  • Too Little Too late5
  • Alcohol4
  • Life, In a Nutshell2
  • Falling For The First Time5
  • In The Car4
  • Pinch Me5
  • The Old Apartment3
  • It’s All Been Done4
  • Light Up My Room4
  • Humour Of The Situation5
  • Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At The Wheel5
  • Jane2
  • Off The Hook5
  • Medley: All the BNL songs ever! (Well, not really…only about fifteen of them, each one lasting only a few bars)
  • One Week4
  • Never Do Anything5
  • If I had $1,000,0001
  • Medley: Some recent hits by other artists in the BNL style, including “The Real Slim Shady”, “Clint Eastwood”, “I’m Like A Bird” (again, just a few bars of each)

Encore 1:

  • Shoe Box3
  • Brian Wilson1

Encore 2:

  • Call And Answer (with Stephen Duffy on backing vocals/guitar)4

Plus, of course, lots of little snippets of (semi-)improvised lunacy, such as “Steve’s Cock/It’s A Family Show (We’re Just A Messed Up Family)”, the Darth Vader version of Britney Spears‘ “Oops!…I Did It Again“, “34? 36? Do my Thighs Look Big In This?” and the “Canadian Blues”

The guys had an absolute blast on stage. You could see they were genuinely enjoying themselves. This is the first time I’ve seen them live, but it won’t be the last!



1: Gordon
2: Maybe You Should Drive
3: Born On A Pirate Ship
4: Stunt
5: Maroon