Written by Liv Foltiny Photos provided by Girlie Action Media

As of this week (and to the tune of “One Week”), it’s been eight weeks since I looked at them, took their photos, and wrote about seeing them, three weeks since I agreed to give their new album a listen and critique.

Silliness aside, after photographing and reviewing the Barenaked Ladies’ show at The Met back in July, I decided I’d give reviewing their newest album, In Flight, a shot, considering how their live performance was fun, witty, and good-hearted to say the least. However, because I had never listened to any of their albums from beginning to end (until now), I didn’t honestly know what to expect.

With my laptop open and the volume up, I pressed play and was greeted by the first track, “Lovin’ Life,” a cheerful and upbeat song in which the band describes how being alive is a wonderful thing, even though life has plenty of bad moments, not just good ones. The song nicely fits into the kind of playlist you’d create to combat a shitty day. Following suit, “One Night,” the second track, carries a positive concept by encouraging people to live in the moment and indicating how taking risks is necessary sometimes. Simply put, both of these songs have the ability to put a smile on your face and, for lack of better words, exude joy.

Between this song, “What Do We Need?”, “Just Wait”, and “Waning Moon”, the band covers various topics ranging from the changes that come with getting older to wanting to be there for their loved ones and how they continue to experience life lessons. Between this song, “What Do We Need?,”  “Just Wait,” and “Waning Moon,” the band covers various topics ranging from the changes that come with getting older to wanting to be there for their loved. ones and how they continue to experience life lessons. Out of these four songs (and possibly the entire album), “What Do We Need?” was, without a doubt, the one with the hardest-hitting line: “I love it more than anything, but please make it end.” This statement follows Ed Robertson singing about how the band members leave their families to go on tour with one another and continue to grow older as the years pass. Given the order of the lines, I wasn’t sure (and still am not sure) whether the “please make it end” was directed toward one, both, or neither of these sentiments. In the case of the latter of these options, I wonder if the plea refers to the heartache that can come with having to decide whether to tour and, if so, the blunt recognition that they’ll be away from loved ones for a while.

Although a majority of the tracks following “Just Wait” (with the exception of “Wake Up”) don’t appeal to me personally, they are still put together well and continue to carry a self-reflective voice. They also have lyrics that plenty of us can relate to. Yes, I’m looking at you, “Too Old” because “I’m too old for this shit” is a comment that, regardless of its tone when spoken (i.e., joking or serious), is something that can resonate with a lot of us in some way. Lines like this, as well as the beautifully painful ones (like that line in “What Do We Need?” I referenced before), are things that make In Flight stand out and indisputably make it human.

In Flight is available now! You can check it out on your favorite streaming device or buy it directly from the band’s online store.

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Written and Photographed by Liv Foltiny

Underestimating the time it would take me to walk to the venue from the parking garage, I got to The Met a few minutes after 7 p.m. and rushed in to find the opening band, del Amitri, on the third song of their set. The audience was fairly quiet yet attentive as the band performed, but that all changed later in their set. As del Amitri began to play their hit song “Roll to Me,” multiple people stood up, danced, and swayed to the music. This initial shift in the crowd’s energy was only a small taste of the energy that would overtake the crowd as the night carried on. 

After a short intermission and set change, Five For Fighting (John Ondrasik) took to the stage, opening with “America Town,” “Chances,” and “The Riddle.” A few songs later, the mood in the venue changed as the lighting on stage switched to a central spotlight, and Ondrasik took a moment to speak directly to the audience before he and his band continued with their next song, “Can One Man Save the World.” Ondrasik explained how he and his bandmates traveled to Ukraine to record the song with a Ukrainian Orchestra at the Antonov Airport, which was attacked by Putin and his forces last year. Acknowledging how every orchestra member had suffered from the war in some way (e.g., losing loved ones, having loved ones serving on the frontlines, etc.), he expressed his respect for their “fortitude.” He said being able to witness events in Ukraine brought up “every emotion you could imagine.” He then stated, “We got it good here [in the United States],” The audience applauded before sitting down at his piano to play.

While performing “Can One Man Save the World,” Ondrasik was bathed in blue and yellow lights as photos and video footage of Ukraine (including some Ondrasik and his bandmates took with their cellphones) played in the background. Airplane and airport ruins, destroyed buildings and homes, contorted vehicles, and images of local citizens were on display for everyone to see as he sang his poignant words to an audience that listened to every word.

Following “Can One Man Save the World,” Five For Fighting performed two other hits —”Superman (It’s Not Easy)” and “100 Years” — before turning to the audience. Claiming he had heard that the Barenaked Ladies‘ fans were good singers, Ondrasik led everyone in some vocal warm-ups before covering Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with his band and with help from the audience. As Five For Fighting’s set ended, the crowd was energized and ready to see their headliner. They just had to wait for the digital hourglass, which appeared onstage, to run out.

When the final digital grains of sand passed through the hourglass, everyone rushed back to their seats, and shortly after, the Barenaked Ladies took the stage. Starting their set off with “Matter of Time,” “It’s All Been Done,” and “The Old Apartment,” the Barenaked Ladies commanded the stage and got everyone up on their feet.

Standing before a vibrant backdrop bearing the band’s name, Ed Robertson (lead vocalist), exuding his self-proclaimed Muppets Show humor, exclaimed that he was happy the show was indoors, considering the band recently played an outdoor concert where he was “sweating [his]balls off.” This joking banter would pop up throughout the rest of the show, and the band even made sure to bring the audience in on jokes. At one point, they said they had been working on a new album that hasn’t been given a title yet, and, in response, a fan a few rows behind me enthusiastically shouted, “Call it Philly!” As a result, “Call It Philly” became an ongoing joke throughout the night. Between the jokes and Robertson’s “I care that you’re here” attitude, which seemed to be held by the other band members, the Barenaked Ladies created an environment filled with positivity where it felt like you were among friends.

As the band continued their set, they played various songs, including “Pinch Me,” “The Township of King,” “Loving Life,” “Big Bang Theory Theme,” and “One Week.” I don’t know whether it was because I wasn’t familiar with the band or their catalog, but I wasn’t expecting the fantastic yet hilarious medley of covers that was about to happen. Before I knew it, the band was performing “Flowers” (Miley Cyrus), which was followed by “As It Was” (Harry Styles), “TakeOn Me” (a-ha), “Climb Every Mountain” (Sound of Music), “So Long, Farewell” (Sound of Music), and “Rock of Ages” (Def Leppard). The mixture of songs was one that I would never have thought of, and its chaotic randomness brought about smiles, laughs, and cheers — with one of the biggest cheers being when Tyler Stewart (drummer) danced alongside and, subsequently, caught Jim Creeggan (bassist) who jumped into his arms.

While the medley of covers closed out the Barenaked Ladies’ set, it didn’t close out the night. Wanting to perform one more song, the Barenaked Ladies called del Amitri and Five ForFighting, back to the stage. Together, they performed a cover of “Jet Airliner” (Steve Miller Band), where every member of each band had an additional moment to shine as they all played, danced, and sang together. It was apparent that there was mutual respect between the bands as artists and friends, and this positivity and connectedness permeated the audience when the show concluded.

After the final song finished and the bands gave their thankful goodbyes, everyone left the venue. As I walked back to my car, I saw people talking together and a woman jokingly photobombing another concertgoer’s picture, so it’s safe to say that, even though the show ended, the happiness and positivity did not. If this truly was the Last Summer on Earth, like the tour title stated, at least it went out with a beautiful bang we should probably call “Philly.”

Barenaked Ladies

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Five For Fighting

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del Amitri

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The Barenaked Ladies are thrilled to share their upcoming holiday, streaming event, Barenaked Ladies Presents: A Very Virtual Christmas, which will be held on December 18, 2020, at 9 pm EST/ 6 pm PST. They will also provide a UK-only encore on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at 5 pm GMT.

This event will be hosted on SessionsLive and tickets are $15. Seasonal merch and ticket bundles will also be available to purchase here.

This holiday special will feature sketch comedy that was written by the band, as well as a few special surprises and performances of holiday fan favorites from Barenaked For The Holidays album. Some of the merchandise includes new items like Rubik’s Cubes, jigsaw puzzles, hats, and masks, along with the popular ugly sweaters.

The Maroon 20th anniversary edition 180g vinyl is available for presale. Pre-order HERE.

Despite the state of our world right now, the Barenaked Ladies have been keeping busy with Facebook live streams, along with their #SelfieCamJams, which focused on performing deep cuts and fan favorites. So far, they’ve done 23 to-date, including a family-fun “Snacktime“ #SelfieCamJam for kids of all ages.

Tentatively, the band released their list of 2021 tour dates, which you can see below.

Connect with Barenaked Ladies

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Days in Frames

Reviewed by: Brian Roser

This album is melancholy in theme, but beautiful in its execution. There are songs of lost love and lost innocence. It is piano heavy, but then Kevin Hearn is the keyboardist for Barenaked Ladies, so it’s no wonder he is playing to his strengths. This is not to say that the music is monotonous, he does weave in brass, guitar and strings as well, giving it a well rounded sound. In addition to Barenaked Ladies, he has also played with Look People, Rheostatics, The Cousins with his actual cousin, Harland Williams and under his own name with Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle. In his spare time, he beats cancer.

One of the things that I love about Days in Frames is that every now and again some completely random lyrics will come through, just to see if you’re paying attention. In “Floating” for example, after images of an uncomfortable hospitalization, he sings: “I reached for my dick it wasn’t there / it’s vanished into the thin air” … wait, what? No, that was definitely what he said. Then there is a pleasant little song about a man’s morning routine where he eats his eggs and goes to work where his lungs are destroyed while the mayor is smoking crack. I wasn’t expecting that one either.

Days in Frames is not for all occasions. It is a bit sorrowful for everyday consumption. It does, however, have its place. When you feel sad and lost with more questions than answers and not in an angsty Nine Inch Nails kinda way and you’re sick of hearing “Comfortably Numb” on repeat, then the rating for this album goes up to bad-ass.

Rating: Listenable