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Subject: Canton Show Observations
From: Jim Conlin
Date: 1996/10/13
Newsgroups: alt.music.barenaked-ladies
Greetings.
Having visited this group a bit here and there over the summer, I thought the occasion of the Canton show would be a good time for my (our) first post.
My daughter and I just got back from a BIG weekend which included sports car races in Mansfield, Ohio and the BNL show in Canton Friday night. This was our third Ladies show but the first in Canton and it's Palace theater (is it really a historic landmark?). Living in Columbus we usually see the boys at the intimate but ratty Newport Music Hall across the street from The Ohio State University. We had read about the KD throwing controversies here so were not surprised to find boxes of it being confiscated at the door. But this was also the first time I had ever been patted down for apples and apple sauce (why not fish sticks and ice cream sandwiches too?). Once we were inside the ornate Palace though, we could understand why flinging food around was being frowned upon.
Getty Tah were very good, we having crammed for their part of the show by buying and listening to the Sacred Cow CD on our travels to Canton (Whoever You Are is the only track getting airplay on Columbus' WWCD 101.1 so far). We found their show entertaining if not a bit unique - its been a while since I've attended a concert where a steel drum was a major piece and a cameo by a dog (Gina) stole the show.
We didn't note the BNL's play list but they weren't very far into the show before they did the local landmark rap song based on a nearby mall called the Belding Village Mall. As out-of-towners, it was kinda lost on us but the natives were eating it up. Ed later told the crowd that the band had a day off the day before (Thurs., 10 Oct) and he did what he always does when he has "a day off on the road: Hang around the hotel room most of the day." He did describe a huge downtown building and parking garage he could see from his hotel window which looked, to him, to be a sort of city center mall so he ventured over to check it out. When he got there though, he found it was not a mall but a (government?) office building but to make the best of the situation he decided to wander around anyway. He said people kept coming up to him saying "Can I help you?" to which he would respond "No, I'm just browsing - nice stapler."
Steve described how he became violently ill while live on-air at the local alternative station's (106.9) morning show. Ed was actually speaking during the first audible heave. I was curious if any local listeners were tuned in then and were aware that something was going on.
Later Ed recounted a funny story of having come upon the McKinley Elementary School Band playing in a nearby square and how he could tell the kids that were really into it from the kids who weren't (they didn't even have their lips on the instruments) and the enthusiasm of the drummers. Before he left, Ed did his part to support the local arts scene by buying four Reese's Peanut Butter Cups from the McKinley Band Boosters. But can you imagine? I'll bet none of those kids had a clue about who was in there midst.
Compared to the other two shows (one last spring) we've seen, there was no lack of energy or enthusiasm from the band in Canton. They were up to their usual standard. The synchronized break dancing by Kevin, Jim and Tyler was capped by the addition of that Maccarana (sp?) arm dance thing with Steve and Ed refraining "saaaayyy somethingspanish". A couple boxes of macarroni & cheese made it up there during $1M but were out numbered 3 to 1 by green dresses and about 5 to 1 by monKEYs. And just like one had last spring at the Newport, one of those darn monkeys found its way into Steve's shorts sticking it's leg out the fly.
There's probably other stuff that will come to us but that is what stands out from the Canton show. We're eyeing that Christmas show in Detroit (thanks, Adam). Like I tell friends that can't understand our going out of town for a show (especially a band they have heard little, if anything of), the Ladies ALWAYS deliver. Living in a college town there's plenty of great shows for us to see and of those (including Violent Femmes, Pretenders, They Might Be Giants, Mathew Sweet, Material Issue, Cowboy Junkies, Julianna Hatfield, etc.) the top three have been BNL, BNL and BNL.
Barenaked in Columbus,
Jim and Dana
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