The Barenaked Ladies showed off the goods at the CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Canadian rock and roll legends The Barenaked Ladies brought their 2023 Last Summer on Earth Tour to the CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre on June 22nd. This hilarious and talented group of musicians is celebrating 35+ years as a band in 2023 and they are out on the road through June and July across the United States bringing their unique sound to tons of loyal fans. The eager crowd in San Diego was decently sized for a Thursday evening with many families and young fans in attendance singing along to every word to the band’s many familiar tunes.
The Barenaked Ladies feature vocalist Ed Robinson who is also a rapper, guitar player, as well as an onstage comedian. Moving the show along and adlibbing jokes and rap songs throughout the set his humor and music skills were fun to watch. Bassist Jim Creeggan is always a pleasure to see as well since he’s plays upright bass, a rarity in rock bands, and his voice is also fantastic on backup as well as leads. Drummer Tyler Stewart is a fantastic grooving multi-instrumental percussionist, but he is also a comedic foil for the group and a terrific vocalist in his own right. And lastly keyboardist/guitarist Kevin Hearn really rounds out the band’s sound, he plays a ton of different parts, and also covers an admirable amount of vocal duties. Having a quartet that can harmonize, play catchy songs, and tell great jokes is clearly a key part in this group’s impressive longevity.
The band played a 22 song set list in San Diego including all of their famous radio hits including “It’s All Been Done,” “Brian Wilson,” “Big Bang Theory Theme,” “If I Had $1,000,000,” and the ubiquitous “One Week.” The production of the tour was top notch with great sound, crazy colorful lights, and a giant LED video wall behind the band playing funny animations and clips from their long history of music videos.
As one often does at a midweek show, I decided to head back to the car before the final few songs of the evening. Walking back to the garage from the Open Air Theater on this brisk night, several groups of SDSU college students were seen standing and listening to the concert outside the venue. As the familiar tones of “One Week” echoed out into the quad one student said to the others “You guys actually know this music?” as several friends replied in unison “Everyone knows this song!” As I quietly hummed the song to myself all the way back to the car, I reflected on a fantastic evening of live music.
