Barenaked on the Rocks

Last night, I went to see one of my favorite bands, Barenaked Ladies, perform live at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Though I had seen them in concert twice before, this was a significant occasion for a couple of reasons.

First, despite having lived a combine total of over 20 years in the Denver area, I'd never attended a concert at the famous Red Rocks. I'd taken many visiting friends there to see it as a tourist attraction, but had never gone for an actual show. (And it's a great venue! Great sights, including a sprawling view of the city at night; great acoustics; great history.)

Second, this is the band's first tour since one of their founding members, Steven Page, left the group. I don't suppose I ever much considered my favorite member of Barenaked Ladies, but if I did, I'd have probably said Steven. He's a powerhouse vocalist that sings with great emotion and expressiveness. He's the voice of "Call and Answer," "Brian Wilson," "What a Good Boy," ... nearly all the best BNL ballads, and some of the more up-tempo radio hits too, like "It's All Been Done" and "The Old Apartment."

On the one hand, I was concerned that many of my favorite BNL songs wouldn't be the same without him (if they played them at all). On the other, after hearing the songs tons and tons of times, here was a chance to hear them for the first time, in a way, as other members of the band (mostly the other lead vocalist, Ed Robertson) took over for those songs.

I think of the three times I've seen the band live, this might actually have been my favorite performance. They had a great energy (as they always do for live shows), played a strong set list (though it was, expectedly, missing the ballads I mentioned above), and there was just some undefinable something that was a cut above the other shows I've seen.

Things worked really well around the absence of Steven Page. A few harmonies shifted around some in the arrangements, but fit in nicely with the new voices singing them. The leads were great, honoring the way the songs have always been song without being strict imitations. They played all my favorite songs off the new album, without spending much time delving into the clunkers among the back tracks. I was impressed and entertained.

...and slightly disappointed. At the last BNL concert I attended (and all throughout their last tour), they were doing this awesome thing where you could buy MP3s of the very concert you'd just watched on USB sticks just 15 minutes after the show. I had my plan and money in place, and every intention of making that purchase this time. I wanted it all the more after actually hearing the show. But for some reason, they weren't doing it at this show. I checked their web site, and it seems they haven't been doing it on this tour at all. It was one of only two black spots on the entire night (the other being a preposterously long 30 minute wait after the last opening act, before BNL took to the stage).

Still, a great night. And now I've been to the place where "the Rocks.... are red... Sincerely... Ed." (You literally had to be there.)