The Barenaked Ladies have a reputation for being a little nerdy, a little word-happy and a lot of fun -- especially live.
So for the summer, BNL frontman Ed Robertson and his comrades Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn and Tyler Stewart, decided to hook up with some old friends to share the road for a few months -- with the goal of keeping things organic, spontaneous and yes, fun, every night.
Joining the "Pinch Me," "One Week," "It's All Been Done" hitmakers are the like-minded Blues Traveler, Big Head Todd & The Monsters and Cracker.
Robertson checked in from San Diego recently to talk about the tour, its urgent title and the Broadway musical the band is currently working on.
Q. Between your tour and the "Summerland" tour, it's a total '90s-fest this year.
A. It's the "Weren't the '90s Amazing?!" summer [laughs]. Actually, we're not big on nostalgia. This wasn't about setting up a '90s tour, it's about who is fun live and rock bands that put on a good show. The '90s just happened to be really good for that.
Q. The title of the tour, "Last Summer on Earth," seems a bit morbid, no?
A. As a society, we're big on, like, runaway plagues and the Mayan calendar and such, so I thought, with a hint of doomsday in the air, what better thing to do than enjoy our last summer on Earth? I'm a man of science and the science would tell us that the Mayans just ran out of rock.
Q. Tell me about the new album the band is working on.
A. We just got one song finished in Toronto and we're also working on a Broadway musical for 'Animal House' and a symphonic tour in Canada.
Q. Did the 'Spiderman' fiasco on Broadway scare you at all?
A. It just made me realize what I have to look out for. I saw that show and realized its pitfalls right away. I love U2, but as soon as the first song started, I thought, this can be a compelling U2 song, but without Bono singing it and the Edge playing it, there is nothing to cling to. When it comes to a musical, you have to step outside of the rock world and write a story. All of the trappings of rock have to disappear.
Concert preview
"Last Summer on Earth" with Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Big Head Todd & The Monsters and Cracker. 7 p.m. July 16. $29.50-$89.50. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, 2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
About the Author
