Barenaked Ladies entertained fans at Peabody Opera House Monday
— By Keith Brake
Since blasting onto the American music scene in 1998 with their hit single “One Week”, the Barenaked Ladies have been consistently churning out hit songs and making us grin at the same time. The band made a stop at The Peabody Opera House this past Monday and brought with them a treat for St Louis.
The band consists of four members, Ed Robertson (guitar), Jim Creeggen (bass), Tyler Stewart (drums) and Kevin Hearn (guitar, keys, banjo, accordion) and it is obvious that their intent is to entertain you. The Barenaked ladies have a special way of engaging the crowd, making them feel like friends and family and when they have them laughing and primed, they deliver another great song. The mixture of humor and storytelling about band members’ antics on the road is a perfect complement to the group’s musical prowess.
Mike Evin provided a supporting act for the evening and he was filling in for the scheduled act that had cancelled. Mike is a singer, songwriter that plays a mean set of keys and is a friend of the band. Mr. Evin played a fairly abbreviated set but it was not short in the entertainment category. Mike has wonderful stage presence and a tremendous voice and while being accompanied for his last few songs by Jim and Tyler, he provided a very solid act.
The Barenaked Ladies opened their set with “Boomerang” and right from the start there were smiles everywhere. The smiles were especially prevalent among band members, a refreshing site for a group who has been touring and playing as long as these guys have. The fun loving St. Louis crowd noticed and appreciated the moxy and vigor the band was playing with and in return provided more than enough fuel for the fire.
The boys slowed things down a little a few songs in and got a little more intimate with the crowd. Tyler Stewart left his full drum kit for a stripped down smaller version located at center stage, front. The smaller kit had a snare, one cymbal and a box for a kick (bass) drum. The name on the box used was more than appropriate “Barenaked Box”. Kevin Hearn also showed the crowd how to interject an accordion into pop rock and became the first person to play an accordion solo at any rock show I have attended.
Highlights from the evening were abundant; sing along and standing ovations were common place for this evening. “One Week”, “Brian Wilson” “Pinch Me” and “Big Bang Theory” brought raucous applause and appreciation from the full opera house. The evening would not have been complete without a rousing ovation and a two song encore that included a cover of the Violent Femmes “Blister In The Sun”.
This show was a pure joy to attend and in light of that I highly recommend you finding the time to see these guys do their thing. Information concerning tour dates and other musings can be found at http://www.barenakedladies.com.
Setlist:
Boomerang
Duct Tape Heart
Easy
Ad Lib
The Old Apartment
Al Swacker’s Radio Show Jingle
Gonna Walk
For You
Maybe Katie
Life, in a Nutshell
It’s all Been Done
Brian Wilson
Blame it on Me
Don’t Shuffle Me Back (Kevin Hearn song)
Four Seconds
Light up my Room
Odds Are
Falling For the First Time
Pinch Me
Big Bang Theory Theme
One Week
If I Had $1,000,000
Barenaked Rap
———Encore———–
Alcohol
Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes cover)
