Martian

I can't shake the feeling that this should be in the erogenous zone. Anyway...

Gotta say, I love these guys. I generally go for what my sisters call 'angry music', but Barenaked Ladies is one of a few exceptions. Well, a lot of exceptions. There's just an energy to their music that very few people seem to be able to resist. Live it's even better.

There have historically been some musicians who clearly think that what they're doing is the greatest thing they could ever possibly be doing and it shows through. Barenaked Ladies fall into that category. You can tell that they just have so much fun singing and dancing and making music. Louis Armstrong was the same way.

Got any others?

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

God of Thunder

Blues Traveler


To add to your BNL story, you need to see them live. They will impress you a lot more.

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I reject your reality, and substitute my own

-- Adam Savage

Daniel_

BNL live is something to behold.

They generally do a medley of stuff that's currently in the charts given a unique BNL twist.

Just as an asside, my Xwife's sister worked for Wendy's near Vancouver a while ago and was asked to pen up half an hour early so the BNL guys could get Wendy's frosties before going on a long road trip back from there.

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╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

Martian

Uhhh......

__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

God of Thunder

It was early in the morning, and I must have missed that.

So, consider it me agreeing with you.

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I reject your reality, and substitute my own

-- Adam Savage

Redlemon

I've assigned my BNL music to the genre of 'Quirky' on my iPod, which encompases a certain style of lyric writing. The rest of that genre is:

The Dead Milkmen
Fountains of Wayne
Frank Zappa
King Missile
Oingo Boingo
Pain (thanks Rubyee for clueing me in to them!)
The Presidents of the United States of America
They Might Be Giants

Your mileage will certainly vary.

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I can't read your signature. Sorry.

Charlatan

Good list redlemon... I concur.


I can remember when the Barenaked Ladies were just starting out. When I was in University in Ottawa a local bar booked them for a month of Tuesdays (or something like that). A bunch of us happened on them on the first Tuesday... They put on a great show in what amounted to a bar with fewer than 100 people.

Some of my friends went back for all the other Tuesdays as well...

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

quadro2000

I'm sure I've discussed this on here before, but I first saw BNL in Rochester, 9 years ago. At the time, I was a casual fan with two of their CDs.

At the concert, I spent more time laughing than I did singing along. From then on, I was hooked. I've seen them 13 times since '96. I think what I love most about them is the fact that they're absolute geeks onstage - and so proud of it - that you just can't help but go along with them. They're very inclusive - I think all it takes is one show to feel like you've always been a BNL fan.

I feel like they're caught in a tough position - they still want to do fun, novelty songs (like "Another Postcard") but don't want it to define or categorize them (like making "Another Postcard" the first single off the newest record). Furthermore, there are so many people that will only see them as the band who did "One Week" and that also limits their ability to reach new fans. Luckily, their non-stop touring in the mid-late '90s ensured that word-of-mouth would go a long way - and it did.

Unfortunately, the past few concerts I've been to have been bad experiences, due to drunk and obnoxious NYC crowds. But the next time they're in town, I'll be there.

As for other bands who give off the same vibe - I'd say Moxy Fruvous (up until the last year they were together, when they just looked kinda tired) and Guster really have fun when they're on stage.

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You have to laugh at yourself...because you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't. - Emily Saliers

Booray

I think the Drive By Truckers is another band that seems to have a great time when they're performing.

And I concur on Blues Traveler. Another great live band that has a great time while tearin it up.

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Persuaded, paraded, inebriated, and down
Still aware of everything life carries on without

thatoneguy

I've seen BNL live a few times and they are definitely one of my favorite live bands of all time (well that I've seen anyway). It's like other people have said, they definitely seem to have fun while they're perforing, which some other bands don't.

It's also funny (and says something about how good they are live) how many people come back after seeing them once, and know all the little things they do, like people bring Kraft Macaroni in to throw during the line that mentions it in "If I Had a Million Dollars". The first time I saw them and at that point people starting throwing pasta I thought I'd imagined it or something haha. It's pretty strange when you don't expect it.

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"Thank you for flying Church of England, cake or death?"

Markboy

BNL probably come in top of my list of bands I would love to see live. Unfortunately, I don't think they've ever toured down here... I live in hope...

Gordon is still my favourite album of their's, I like all the others, but for mine, Gordon is the most consistent.

quadro2000

Just a note: if you go to see BNL, don't ever do this. It's something that they used to enjoy a number of years ago, but after a while, they started getting annoyed with it, because:

1) It hurts to get hit in the head with a box
2) Sometimes people cooked the pasta, which gets caught in instruments
3) There's nothing fun about a band (or an audience) getting covered in powdered cheese (I left many of their shows reeking of the stuff)

IMHO the band sent mixed messages about it for a while - sometimes they would laugh it off and play around with the cheese/pasta, and sometimes they would get really angry about it. Nowadays, as they say, "those in the know...don't throw." People don't really do it anymore, which is good because it means I no longer have to bring a poncho with me to their shows.

You can still throw green dresses and monkeys, though. To my knowlege, nobody's thrown an emu or Art Garfunkel at them.

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You have to laugh at yourself...because you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't. - Emily Saliers

thatoneguy

Now THAT I would definitely pay to see!

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"Thank you for flying Church of England, cake or death?"

God of Thunder

On a side note, has anyone else bought their live shows from their website?

They have been recording the last 3 or 4 tours and offer them for download at http://www.barenakedladies.com. I have downloaded the Detroit and Grand Rapids shows that I went to and they are great.

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I reject your reality, and substitute my own

-- Adam Savage

holtmate

I finally saw BNL last Christmas, and it was one of the most fun live shows that I have ever seen. We were all laughing hysterically the whole time.
Their download service is a great idea. I got the concert as soon as it was available. I just wish more bands would follow suit.

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"Give her your coat"
"Why me?"
"Because you're perfect."
"You have a point there."

fresnelly

I was in High School when someone put their yellow indie cassette on the stereo in the cafeteria and played "A Million Dollars". EVERYONE in the room stopped talking and eating and started listening and laughing. Truly a rare occurance. BNL has shown class through their whole career and deserve their stellar reputation.

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Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life