For over three decades, the Barenaked Ladies have been bringing improvisation, diverse musicality and a friendly sense of humor to stages all over the world. On June 2 at Kemba Live, you will be able to experience the fun firsthand on the group’s Last Summer on Earth Tour.
The band is best known for jovial hits such as “If I Had $1,000,000” and “One Week,” plus the Big Bang Theory theme song.
“Now you have grandparents and their grandchildren coming to our shows, which is incredible to us,” says Tyler Stewart, the band’s drummer. “I just think that the music, there’s a certain resonance, lyrically, whether it’s on the lighter side and you can identify and sing along with it, or it’s on the heavier side.”
The band’s latest album, Detour de Force, was released in 2021. Its creation was a great bonding time for the band Stewart says, but that doesn’t mean it was easy.
“It was made just pre-pandemic, and, you know, completed during it,” he says. “So I think the fact that we all were together up at Ed’s cottage, we set up the recording gear in his living room. We were eating there, we were living there together for almost a month. And it was the middle of winter so there wasn’t much else to do other than make music, eat delicious food and occasionally go for trudges in the snow or cross-country ski or something.”
The work they ended up with, Stewart is quite proud of. The resulting album is surprisingly fun given its use of mixed themes and sentiments that many felt through the COVID-19 pandemic, but each song contains a signature Barenaked Ladies twist.
For example, “New Disaster” comments on frightening social trends in a comically explosive style. Its presentation is fascinating; it acknowledges how many problems are presented in the media, but the song is performed in a way that makes it all seem like an exciting dopamine rush every time something goes wrong in the world.
“Flip” is a straightforward, enjoyable pop-tune that would be great for a sunny road trip with a few friends and the windows down.
Courtesy of Warner Music Canada
“I felt like we were really together and had a common vision,” Stewart says. “And, you know, the record is quite varied. There’s some straight-ahead kind of pop bangers but there’s also some quieter, more introspective tunes and I think being together in that close environment fostered that.”
This “common vision” is clearly demonstrated in their live performances, with bandmates keeping the audience – and each other – on their toes at all times.
“Since we know each other so well after all these years, we can kind of anticipate where somebody’s gonna go in a song, but then at the same time, we all have the capacity to surprise each other,” Stewart says. “That’s the greatest thing … Kevin is just like an endless well of musical ideas. Just trusting him to come up with something great. And he always does. He always does.”
The bandmates’ love for each other speaks for itself in their performances, but Stewart has plenty to say about it as well:
“You will definitely notice it’s a group of guys who are very grateful for being able to do what we do,” he says. “After all these years, we’re going to be debuting some of the new songs that we just finished working on in the studio (just before this interview), which is nice.”
The Barenaked Ladies will take the stage at Kemba Live on Friday, June 2 at 6 p.m.
Tyler Kirkendall is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at tkirkendall@cityscenemediagroup.com.
