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BARENAKED LADIES
@ ALLSTATE ARENA
ROSEMONT,
ILLINOIS
NOVEMBER 16, 2006
Review by Sarah Lounges
All photos by Jules Follett of Fotos By Folletts
The Barenaked Ladies concert at the Allstate Arena
in Rosemont, Illinois (just north of Chicago) on November
16th proved to be an amazing night of music and fun ––
everything their fans wanted.
An
enthusiastic crowd welcomed the now 20-year-old band with
loud cheers and near deafening applause as they bounded to
the stage to open the show. From the time the lights rose
and the first note was struck, there was electricity in the
air that remained steadfast throughout the course of the
2-hour concert.
Though out to promote their latest album –– “Barenaked
Ladies Are Me” –– from which they played a fair
amount of selections that went over well, the band did not
shortchange those fans eager to hear all the old hits and
frat party favorites.
Among the songs drawing the greatest response were “One
Week”, “Pinch Me”, and their breakthrough hit, “Brian
Wilson”.
In
between their songs, the band had much banter back and forth
with each other and with their fans,
making up impromptu songs about their trip to Chicago and
even celebrating the 8th birthday of a young fan in the
audience.
The concert environment was very upbeat, as BNL members
danced around stage having a blast with their music. They
even did a short choreographed dance number/fight scene that
kept the audience entertained.
The party atmosphere spilled off the stage and into the
audience, where everyone seemed to be dancing, smiling and
singing along.
Even
though Barenaked Ladies are all about fun, they were serious
about promoting a worthy cause in the lobby and on the
screens inside the arena. Barenaked Earth is a project that
strives to educate and inspire people to do their part in
the conservation of our threatened planet.
After an outstanding and very high energy show, BNL came
back and encored with their latest single, “Easy”, followed
by “If I Had A Million Dollars”.
Clearly, neither the band nor the fans had gotten
enough of each other even after that, because BNL responded
to the loud applause from those fans who were not yet ready
to head home, by coming back yet again for a second encore
of “Call and Answer”.
Overall, the concert was a big hit with the audience. The
band more than delivered a wonderful
show. In fact, one could say they gave their Windy City
fans an early Christmas present that night then tied it all
up with a big red, double encore bow.
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