Quirky Canadian quartet Barenaked Ladies have been regular visitors on this side of the Atlantic since appearing at Glastonbury way back in 1992 in support of debut album Gordon. Some thirteen studio albums later they are back in the UK to mark the release of In Flight, and were welcomed to the stage by a packed out Wulfrun Hall for what was their first gig in Wolverhampton since they played at the same venue back in 1994. And three decades later the band still retained their knack for comedic timing, wry observations, uplifting harmonies and plenty of joyous sing-a-longs.
Despite their goofball demeanour there is no doubt that BNL remain a fine live act and this was 90 minutes of quality musicianship courtesy of Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan and Kevin Hearn. And while they did showcase a handful of new songs from In Flight, all of the old favourites were present, kicking off with a rousing ‘The Old Apartment’ that set the scene for what was to follow.
It is difficult to imagine anyone not having a great time at a BNL show; the foursomes’ infectious enthusiasm and legendary impromptu jams and raps are guaranteed to raise a smile. Between songs Ed recounted his day wandering around Wolverhampton, which mostly seemed to comprise of looking for somewhere to eat, and gave a shout out to well-known local restaurant The Bilash with Tyler, Jim and Kevin all chipping in from time to time. They also deviated from the set list, Kevin dedicating the by request ‘Big Back Yard’ to a family he had bumped into earlier in the day which was a nice touch.
With memorable, catchy, songs like ‘Brian Wilson’, ‘Odds Are’, ‘If I Had $1,000,000’ and ‘Big Bang Theory Theme’ at their disposal BNL had the Wulfrun crowd bouncing along to every verse and chorus. All too soon it was time for the trademark ‘Barenaked Rap’ that included the likes of ‘Take On Me’ and ‘Climb Every Mountain’, before Ed and Tyler traded places to allow the drummer to move front and centre and deliver a dazzling ‘Rock of Ages’. They encored with In Flights ‘Lovin Life’, its title pretty much summing up the BNL mantra. Thirty odd years since they first came to these shores, the love affair between band and audience shows no signs of waning.
Setlist:-
The Old Apartment
Too Old
Gonna Walk
Just Wait
Four Seconds
Pinch Me
Big Back Yard
Odds Are
Lookin’ Up
What Do We Need?
Hello City / Crazy
Keepin’ It Real
Brian Wilson
Big Bang Theory Theme
One Week
If I Had $1,000,000
If You Could Read My Mind / Flowers / As It Was / Take On Me / Climb Every Mountain / So Long, Farewell / Rock of Ages
Encore:-
Lovin’ Life
