On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Barenaked Ladies
July 25, 1999
The Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto

O.K. — so I am the last one to finally admit (or realize) that this once-quirky indie band from Scarborough has hit the big time in a huge way.

Kicking off their tour in support of the mega selling Stunt record, Steven Page, Ed Robertson and the boys pulled into the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto on Sunday night (July 25) and gave the sold out crowd of roughly 16,000 a crash course in fun.

With the appreciative crowd up and dancing in the aisles, it was a far cry from the 8,000 or so that showed up to see them headline last years H.O.R.D.E festival. Ed and Steve were up to their usual antics, displaying a wit and sense of humor so rare in the serious world of Rock N' Roll.

On this night, Page was in extremely fine voice on songs such as "The Old Apartment", "It's All Been Done" and "Brian Wilson" — the latter earning him the loudest and longest ovation of the night. True to their comedic selves, the Ladies (rounded out by drummer Tyler Stewart, bass player Jim Creeggan and keyboardist Kevin Hearn, who has rejoined the band after a serious battle with leukemia) added skit comedy to their two hour set.

At one point, Creeggan stormed off stage with his bandmates in hot pursuit. They finally surfaced in their dressing room, which was shown with video screens onstage. Creeggan adamantlly wanted the band's bass, guitar, drums sound changed. "Oh, it will change" said Stewart right into the camera. Seconds later, out strolled a cross between Barenaked Devo and Kraftwerk as the quintet launched into "Some Fantastic".

That was just one antic of many on this night that featured numerous set changes and interpretive dances by the two frontmen. A waltz-style dance after the mammoth hit "One Week" ended with Page and Robertson kissing on the lips; they seemed to surprise even themselves!

The set list was custom-tailored to satisfy just about everyone in attendance; all the hits were played. "If I Had $1,000,000" generated, to my eyes, one solitary box of Kraft Dinner — more proof that this band has grown up and their audience are along for the ride.

No one left unhappy as BNL produced the freshest vibe and most relaxed concert atmosphere in recent memory.