The sold-out crowd of fans at Meijer Gardens on Wednesday embraced the heat and their Canadian heroes, who even spent time at The Pyramid Scheme after the show. (Review, photos)
Career-Spanning Show: Barenaked Ladies had fans up and singing along for much of the evening. (Photo/Kendra Kamp)
Even 90-degree heat in the middle of July couldn’t keep the sold-out crowd from lining up early at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park for Barenaked Ladies on Wednesday.
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Excited fans greeted each other with hugs, many wearing shirts from the group’s earlier tours, as Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Gary Jules opened the night with an acoustic set that included his wildly popular rendition of “Mad World,” a Tears for Fears cover.
Hot Night, Happy Crowd: Barenaked Ladies on stage at Meijer Gardens. (Photo/Jeff Merrill)
A short while later, Barenaked Ladies took to the stage to begin a lively, humorous show, instantly bringing the crowd to its feet to cheer as one to favorites from the group’s vast career and catalog of popular tunes.
Guitarist and lead vocalist Ed Robertson implored fans, through his song’s lyrics, to “keep on dancin’ till you all pass out.”
“If, by the end of this hot summer show, 60 to 70 percent of you are not hospitalized, I will be severely disappointed,” Robertson said with a laugh. “It means you weren’t rocking out hard enough!”
The entertaining banter between group members had the crowd laughing throughout the night, as did Robertson’s frequent hip-hop freestyle breakouts, spinning new, on-the-spot rhymes in between established favorites. The new lyrics frequently had a unique, local touch, mentioning Grand Rapids as well as the evening’s opening act.
CUTTING LOOSE ON FUN SOLOS, PLAYING PINBALL AT THE PYRAMID SCHEME
Much of the crowd of 1,900 spent most of the night on their feet, cheering for the songs and singing along with their favorites — even a tune or two for kids in the audience from the Canadian band’s children’s album. The band cut loose on fantastic solos along the way, earning even more cheers from concertgoers.
Opener: Gary Jules warmed up the crowd on Wednesday. (Photo/Kendra Kamp)
(Band members, it seems, also were smitten by Grand Rapids, posting a post-concert video of pinball machines at The Pyramid Scheme nightclub on Instagram with the note: “Amazing show tonight in Grand Rapids, and SO great to have a killer pinball spot for Apres Rock!”)
Toward the end of the Meijer Gardens set, BNL launched into its beloved favorite, “If I Had a Million Dollars.” Leading a call-and-response with the crowd, the group listened as fans sang their own song back to them, the words ringing all the way through the venue.
Even though a million dollars was out of reach for most of these fans, it didn’t matter: For concert attendees who’d seen BNL several times across the band’s career, or for those experiencing them for the first time, all had a great seat to a memorable show that helped make their summer.
And it’s hard not to “be rich” after that.
PHOTO GALLERY: Barenaked Ladies, Gary Jules at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Kendra Kamp
