The “Last Summer on Earth” apparently never ends for Barenaked Ladies.
In 2015, the carefree Canadian band hit the road for the so-named tour with the Violent Femmes and Colin Hay. A couple of years earlier, Ben Folds and Guster joined the tour poster.
This summer, they’ve kept the name, but dialed up a couple of top-notch ‘80s synth-pop artists to share the bill – Howard Jones and OMD.
At Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Tuesday night, the trifecta of acts presented more than three hours of nostalgia, fun and singalongs.
Here’s a quick rundown:
Howard Jones opened the show with a smile and rolled through his substantial hit list (bet ya didn’t remember that he or OMD had so many chart-toppers).
Alternating between a strap-on keyboard and his traditional synth, Jones, who looked healthy and spry at 61, also sounded as smooth as he did 30 years ago on “Everlasting Love” and “What Is Love?” and, with the aid of another keyboardist and drummer (on an electric kit), nailed the springy "New Song."
A gregarious fellow, Jones strolled through the crowd during "Like to Get to Know You Well" – unfortunately, the number of people on site for his set was akin to his sellout at the Variety Playhouse last summer – joked that fans should ignore the message in "Life in One Day" to not take life seriously, and ably hit the high notes in "Things Can Only Get Better."
Early in their set, OMD singer/bassist/dancer Andy McCluskey introduced a song by saying, “We’re going to do two songs from movies tonight. This isn’t that one.”
THAT one would be the British duo’s signature piffle, “If You Leave,” the inescapable hit from 1986’s John Hughes classic, “Pretty In Pink.”
The song the rubber-limbed McCluskey was referencing, though, was the propulsive “Tesla Girls” from “Weird Science,” which McCluskey, keyboardist Paul Humphreys and a pair of backing musicians delivered with high-kicking spunk.
It wasn’t long, though, until the ubiquitous “If You Leave” arrived, sounding record perfect and thrilling the crowd (slightly larger than Jones’, but still about half of the seated area of the amphitheater).
While McCluskey threatened to dislocate an elbow with his kooky stage dancing during the blissful “So in Love” and “Dreaming,” Humphreys escaped from behind his Roland keyboard to take the spotlight for the head-bobbing “(Forever) Live and Die.”
Barenaked Ladies took the stage in an unassuming manner and slipped into “Testing 1, 2, 3,” the first of many songs that prompted their ardent followers to sing along.
Frontman Ed Robertson peppered his banter with humor – including jokes about aging – and spit a rhyme that incorporated name checks of OMD and Jones.
Bassist Jim Creeggan, who appeared to relish every second of being onstage, looked perpetually amused at Robertson’s commentary. But when he wasn’t being entertained by his bandmate, Creeggan was attacking his upright bass with fervor.
“Sound of Your Voice” and “Brian Wilson” reminded of the band’s longevity – from 2006 and 1993, respectively – and even another “Gordon”-era song, the bossa nova-grooving “Blame it On Me,” joined the robust set.
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