Last night at 9 pm, the Barenaked Ladies played a live concert on the Internet. The show was a ticket only event, one of many that have taken place during this pandemic. With venues closed down, having a virtual concert is the only option.
Although it was a virtual event, the Barenaked Ladies rocked the Christmas house!
The 2020 Barenaked Ladies consists of Ed Robertson, Jim Creeggan, Tyler Stewart, and Kevin Hearn.
The Set
During the live performance, the set had oversized letters in the background spelling BARENAKED LADIES. In addition to that, the entire stage was set in Christmas decorations. Tyler Stewart, the drummer, wore oversized Christmas lights around his neck. At one point during the concert, Sarah McLachlan appeared on an iPad strapped to a dancing green blob. She was live on the iPad and sang two songs with Ed Robertson.
The Songs
The Barenaked Ladies played – I Saw Three Ships, Green Christmas, Snowman, and a host of other traditional Christmas songs, however, they played them the BNL way! Jingle Bells lead the way with it starting out a traditional Carole and then rocking it out BNL Style.
The band was tight, harmonic, and they were a lot of fun to watch.
I particularly loved seeing Jim Creeggan playing his stand up bass. He gets so into it. I just love the energy of the entire band.
All of the band members got to sing a song.
For about 10 seconds, the band played the Dreidel Song that led right into Sleigh Ride.
When Ed Robertson switched places with Tyler Stewart, the fun got intense! Ed played on the drums and Tyler sang a mash up of traditional songs in a heavy metal sort of way.
Some Things Taped
The concert wasn’t 100 percent live. There were a few taped segments thrown in but it was done very well.
Comedy Throughout
Although I didn’t find any of it to be belly-laughing funny, it was cute when Tyler Stewart talks about how he added bacon to his eggnog. Or when Kevin Hearn gets a gift of coffee from Jim Creeggan and throws it in a box with all of Jim’s other presents. The audience notices that every year, Jim gets Kevin coffee that Kevin doesn’t drink.
The Only non-Christmas Song
Ed sang Lookin’ up, which is an uplifting song which originally appeared in their 2017 album entitled, FAKE NEWS. Ed sings, “I’m looking up all the way.” The band sings with him which produced amazing harmonies. It was fun to watch.
As the show ended, Ed told the audience that the one thing he appreciates this Christmas is “getting together to play our music.” And, boy did they play! These Barenaked Ladies played their hearts out and the audience felt it.
