It has been over three years since Barenaked Ladies played Louisville. And although they will be performing at the same venue, the Louisville Palace this Saturday October 12 at 8:00, the band finds itself in a slightly different place, figuratively.
In May 2010, they were here supporting All in Good Time, their first studio album since the departure of singer Steven Page in early 2009. It was a tough time for the band, especially singer, guitarist, and main songwriter Ed Robertson, who was also coping with the death of his mother and the plane crash of the Cessna he was piloting. While he shared songwriting duties on that album with keyboardist Kevin Hearn and bassist Jim Creegan, many of Robertson’s tunes wouldn’t necessarily fit into the often jovial BNL catalogue. The record, however, was successful hitting #3 on the Canadian charts and #23 in the U.S.
This time around, the band is even more comfortable as a quartet and is touring in support of Grinning Streak, which debuted in the U.S. at #10 earlier this year, the band's highest position on the chart since Everything to Everyone also debuted at #10 in 2003. The songs onGrinning Streak, while not a song cycle or sequential conceptually, are thematically linked to the idea of emotional rebuilding, hope, healing, and reconciliation. Infectious pop songs like Gonna Walk, Odds Are, and Smile try their best to bring a little light into the darkest of places.
The fall North American tour follows this summer’s Last Summer on Earth 2013 Tour with Ben Folds Five and Guster. Although that tour hit 30 amphitheaters and venues, it only got as close to Louisville as Cincinnati.
Few bands are capable of the type of improvisation that BNL does each show, so if you are a fan, you probably know what to expect (well, sort of at least). If you’ve never seen them, you may pleasantly surprised. With Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin playing Saturday night at the Brown Theatre, it marks one of Louisville’s finest gig dilemmas in quite some time for music fans. Either show seems like a safe bet.
Canadian Luke Doucet Melissa McClelland The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss in July.
For ticket information, see http://louisvillepalace.com.
