Barenaked Ladies kick butt at Pine Knob

Apparently, even the gods like the Barenaked Ladies.
As rain-soaked fans awaited the BNL concert Friday night at Pine Knob, one could
only wonder — would this precipitation ever end?
And then, without warning, without reason and against all odds, just as BNL took
the stage, the rain stopped. Oh yes, the gods love BNL.
But they must hate me. My press passes, which were SUPPOSED to be waiting for
me at the box office, were nowhere to be found. So be it the gods, or their record
label who promised they’d be there, or — most likely — the incompetent
taints running Pine Knob’s box office, someone neglected my needs. Instead
of comfort and warmth, I sat in my paid-for cheap seats and got soaked.
Not that I’m complaining. For me, the back row of a BNL concert is like a
Catholic sitting in the back row at the Pope’s church. I mean, come on, BNL!!!
Anyway, the concert kicked off a tour promoting their new album, “Maroon,”
and by all accounts, did not disappoint. Playing to a packed house in Michigan’s
mini-Woodstock, the fabulous Canadian band jammed for an hour and a half, including
a handful of emotional encores.
BNL kicked the show off with “Too little, too late,” which dutifully
doubles as the lead song on Maroon. From here the band moved on to their other
new hits, such as “Pinch Me.”
Regrettably, the crowd was a mix between real fans (see my girlfriend) and everybody
else. I have never (yes, never) seen so many Baby Boomers drinking imported beer
and cheering for a band they’re older than!
And the kids! Somewhere along the way, people decided it was a brilliant idea
to bring along ten-year-olds to a concert at night. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned,
but I don’t want my grade schooler inhaling marijuana smoke and watching
grown men get drunk and punch each other.
So these “fans,” and I use the term loosely, didn’t seem to enjoy
the new songs, which was truly a shame. BNL’s new album is full of songs
that cannot be matched in their artistic creativity, beauty and elegance.
In the mix with the new tunes were some of the fan-favorites, aka The Classics.
At least here the majority of the crowd knew the songs, singing along with “If
I Had a Million Dollars,” “Good Boy,” “One Week,” and
“These Apples.”
I can’t really say enough about how much the crowd sucked. They didn’t
cheer much for the new songs, and they screwed up the words trying to stamnmer
through the older songs.
And then there were the typical Pine Knob problems. We got there rather early,
staking out a comfortable spot between the mud puddles. Things were going well.
Then, this married couple, a real pair of jackalopes showed up, parking their
asses (combined age of 97 years) right in front of us.
Our blankets overlapped. Maybe this doesn’t seem like a big deal to some,
but trust me, it was on. They were in my hood, on my turf, and I wasn’t cool
wit’ it.
Thankfully, this snafu didn’t overtake my joy at being at another BNL concert.
Of course, before the gods intervened and paused the rain, an opening act waltzed
through their music. Guster, a band BNL loved, played a 30 minute set to about
half the crowd in driving rain. Perhaps the gods didn’t like them. (Hence,
the rain.)
But, hey, at least they liked BNL. Chances are, you would have liked them, too.