BARENAKED LADIES | LIVE REVIEW
Tramshed, Cardiff, Tue 6 Sept
The Tramshed is enticing a surprisingly high number of big name acts into the city nowadays, many of whom haven’t played in the city before. In the case of Torontonian quartet Barenaked Ladies, it’s been roughly 17 years since supporting The Beautiful South (what a quirky, softcore comedy evening that must have been) but they seem to like it here.
If you go into a Barenaked Ladies show ‘blind’ and knowing only the hits (as I did) then you may be surprised as to how ordinary they can be. Before acknowledging the crowd in any meaningful way, the band rattled off a few very MOR tunes, including Boomerang from album-before-last Grinning Streak, the tempo changing very little for the first quarter of an hour or so. Then we got onto the subject of the city they were playing in, having spent their rest time there the day before (cue humorous mispronunciations of Cardiff landmarks and confusion about the Welsh language – I do hope they don’t think they’re trailblazers in that respect). It’s the first and possibly the last time that I’ll witness a crowd being whipped into a frenzy by a band member mentioning how good the coffee is at Barker. Following this, a semi-improvised rap highlighting the city’s delights. If this is the norm at their other shows, then it’s quite an impressive feat.
The rest of the set was peppered with faster-paced numbers (including a particularly well received Be My Yoko Ono performed with friend and support act Boothby Graffoe) and a touching moment where another friend – they’re a friendly bunch – Hugh Jones from Llandrindod Wells took to the keys. As much as your reviewer was not a fan of the AOR bits in between, I wouldn’t have gone to the length of throwing a bottle at frontman Ed Robertson as some poor sap decided to do. I’d go as far to say that BL are one of the least bottleable bands on the circuit, so shame on you, sir.
A rousing encore followed (including those three hits) and any hard feelings were quickly forgotten – the crowd again bouncing about, waving arms and singing along with as much gusto as men and women of a certain age can do. Not inspiring as such, but a rare treat from a band with a dedicated following. Just do your research if you’re not a diehard.
words BEN GALLIVAN