Sunday
On Sunday, Liz and I went to Toronto in the morning.
We got hair cuts. There was so much hair on the floor from both of us that it looked like we'd shaved a small German Shepherd.
We went to Massey Hall.
We saw the "Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime!" which was a matinee show for their new album "Snacktime", which is a kids' album. I remember hearing Steven Page on CBC Radio before it came out talking about how it was a kids album, but just because it's for kids doesn't mean it has to suck. Liz got the album after it came out and I heard it a lot, and frankly, I think it's my favourite album of theirs. One of the things I like in albums is good pacing, and when you are pacing something for kids - i.e. people generally with a shorter attention span - things are kept vibrant and interesting and to-the-point. There's quite the mishmash of styles, and they're A+ musicians so they pull it all off without a hitch.
We also had tickets for the "adult" concert in the evening, but I was more excited for this one, since I thought I'd see more interesting performances of better music (since I like the album).
It was a little strange to be sitting there, because I think we were the only ones in our age group. Literally everyone else in our section was accompanied by children!
Steven Page wasn't really kidding when he said that music for kids doesn't need to suck. It absolutely wasn't dumbed down and I actually thought it was a great set! The lyrics might all be kids' stuff (though there is plenty of subtle humour for the parents/adults), but they are as good musicians as anyone else out there, so we saw several songs of all-acoustic old-time vocal pop (i.e. 5 part harmonies, banjo, acoustic guitar, and upright bass), meat and potatoes rock, keyboard-driven psychedelia, sample-driven electropop, folksy ballads, and more. The start of the set as an acoustic all-around-one-microphone 5-piece was so good that I almost wish the entire set were arranged that way. Apparently Liz wasn't sure if I was enjoying myself, because I take my music so seriously that I have an intense focused look while I watch it, even if its kids' music and there are 5-year-olds dancing all over the place around me!
We killed some time in the mall in between shows and had a delicious dinner of humongous sandwiches at the Pickle Barrel.
The evening show was pretty cool as well, but again, our age group was completely unrepresented! This show was all older couples! It was more adult-focused, which unfortunately meant a more adult contemporary focus, but they don't stop being great musicians so it was pretty entertaining. Some lady threw her enormous bra on stage, which lead to some on-stage hilarity, including multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn having the bra put on his guitar headstock, only to have the strap fall down directly on to the neck, leaving him to play around it for his guitar solo.
While BNL has its reputation defined by a time they had a very kiddy immature image, I think their music usually rises beyond it. My favourite of their "adult" material leans more to the power-pop side (eg. Too Little Too Late, It's All Been Done, Alternative Girlfriend), and they kept that side of their repertoire adequately represented in their setlist. It was a pretty cool set, though not quite as engaging for me as the Snacktime! set. Liz on the other hand is a huge BNL fan, and they played almost all of her favourites in the adult show, so she was very pleased and preferred that set.
We got hair cuts. There was so much hair on the floor from both of us that it looked like we'd shaved a small German Shepherd.
We went to Massey Hall.
We saw the "Barenaked Ladies - Snacktime!" which was a matinee show for their new album "Snacktime", which is a kids' album. I remember hearing Steven Page on CBC Radio before it came out talking about how it was a kids album, but just because it's for kids doesn't mean it has to suck. Liz got the album after it came out and I heard it a lot, and frankly, I think it's my favourite album of theirs. One of the things I like in albums is good pacing, and when you are pacing something for kids - i.e. people generally with a shorter attention span - things are kept vibrant and interesting and to-the-point. There's quite the mishmash of styles, and they're A+ musicians so they pull it all off without a hitch.
We also had tickets for the "adult" concert in the evening, but I was more excited for this one, since I thought I'd see more interesting performances of better music (since I like the album).
It was a little strange to be sitting there, because I think we were the only ones in our age group. Literally everyone else in our section was accompanied by children!
Steven Page wasn't really kidding when he said that music for kids doesn't need to suck. It absolutely wasn't dumbed down and I actually thought it was a great set! The lyrics might all be kids' stuff (though there is plenty of subtle humour for the parents/adults), but they are as good musicians as anyone else out there, so we saw several songs of all-acoustic old-time vocal pop (i.e. 5 part harmonies, banjo, acoustic guitar, and upright bass), meat and potatoes rock, keyboard-driven psychedelia, sample-driven electropop, folksy ballads, and more. The start of the set as an acoustic all-around-one-microphone 5-piece was so good that I almost wish the entire set were arranged that way. Apparently Liz wasn't sure if I was enjoying myself, because I take my music so seriously that I have an intense focused look while I watch it, even if its kids' music and there are 5-year-olds dancing all over the place around me!
We killed some time in the mall in between shows and had a delicious dinner of humongous sandwiches at the Pickle Barrel.
The evening show was pretty cool as well, but again, our age group was completely unrepresented! This show was all older couples! It was more adult-focused, which unfortunately meant a more adult contemporary focus, but they don't stop being great musicians so it was pretty entertaining. Some lady threw her enormous bra on stage, which lead to some on-stage hilarity, including multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn having the bra put on his guitar headstock, only to have the strap fall down directly on to the neck, leaving him to play around it for his guitar solo.
While BNL has its reputation defined by a time they had a very kiddy immature image, I think their music usually rises beyond it. My favourite of their "adult" material leans more to the power-pop side (eg. Too Little Too Late, It's All Been Done, Alternative Girlfriend), and they kept that side of their repertoire adequately represented in their setlist. It was a pretty cool set, though not quite as engaging for me as the Snacktime! set. Liz on the other hand is a huge BNL fan, and they played almost all of her favourites in the adult show, so she was very pleased and preferred that set.