Prime Orchestra, Row F, Seat 119. This seems to be my permanent
seat this summer. Fortunately, there was very little in-and-out this time.
With three name acts, the show started at 7:00, with Toad
and the Gin Blossoms doing around 45 minutes each, while Barenaked Ladies finished
up with 100 minutes or so, coming within 5 minutes of the venue’s 11:00 curfew.
Toad The Wet Sprocket started with a couple songs that I
recognized but had forgotten about, followed by four that I hadn’t heard before.
The second half kicked off with their first hit, “All I Want”, followed by a nice
cover of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”, my two
personal favorites (“Something Always Wrong” and “Fall Down”) and ending with “Walk
On The Ocean”. Overall, it was an enjoyable, no-nonsense set of melodious, pop-oriented
rock.
Although the Gin Blossoms’ melodic rock is relatively
similar to Toad’s, their sets were dramatically different, primarily due to the
contrasting approaches of their respective frontmen. While Glen Phillips was on
the quiet side and let the music speak for itself, Robin Wilson turned the
energy/hype knob up to 11 on nearly every song. Sing along! Clap! Wave your
arms back and forth! Get out your cellphones! I certainly don’t mind some of
that, but for me he was pushing a good thing too far.
The songs, of course, were great, familiar (with the exception
of “Break”) to just about everybody who followed the band during its 1993-1996
heyday. They did sound different live than on CD, as the harmony vocals were mostly
lost in the mix. While I enjoyed the set overall, I wish they would have focused
more on maintaining the subtleties that elevated their recorded material and
less on coaxing the audience to participate in one way or another on nearly
every song.
Barenaked Ladies ended the evening, coming up with a
first-rate set that showed off their versatility and greatly exceeded my
expectations. They certainly did a fine job on their best-loved songs,
including “Brian Wilson” (my personal favorite), “One Week”, and “If I Had
$1000000”, most of which were performed in their default configuration, with Ed
Robertson on guitar and lead vocals, Kevin Hearn on keyboards, Jim Creeggan on
electric bass, and Tyler Stewart on drums. They changed things up for several
numbers in the middle of the set, bringing everyone together up front with
Creeggan on upright bass, Hearn on accordion, and Stewart bringing up a single
piece of his drug set. They also complemented the music with some great videos
on the large screen behind them, especially on the new “Big Back Yard” and
their 2000 single “Pinch Me”.
In addition to the favorites, and a couple other older
tunes, they did 8 of the tracks off of their 2021 album Detour de Force,
which collectively impressed me so much that I ordered the CD the next day,
despite the somewhat lukewarm critical reception. It deftly mixes serious and
more whimsical tracks, some of which would be good for kids of all ages, and a
few of which could fit well into the repertoire of some country music acts.
They concluded the main set with a rap-infused singalong
medley led by Stewart, which started with “Sing” and ended with “Whole Lotta
Love”, with “Just A Friend”, “Coincidance”, and “Whip
It” in the middle. For their encore, they cleverly played on the Traveling
Wilburys’ supergroup conceit, bringing the Gin Blossoms and Toad The Wet Sprocket
back out to trade guitar licks and vocals on “Handle With Care”.
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