Extreme Listening Mode!

One of the best things about going on a cruise that your favourite band is on is the fact that they are just there, on a boat with you, in the middle of the ocean. So you go for breakfast, holy shit, that’s Kevin Hearn behind you. You get in the lift, jesus christ, there’s Jim Creegan. You are sunbathing in all your Scottish so-white-you-are-blue glory, and fuck me, that’s Ed Robertson standing beside you.

The other best thing is that not only do you get to see them play live numerous times, but you get to see a few of their side projects perform (Steven Page’s The Vanity Projects, Kevin Hearn’s Thinbuckle and The Brothers Creegan) as well as see various members step up and help out some of the other acts on board, playing bass, drums and guitar unexpectedly at random gigs throughout the week.

All in BNL played 6 shows over the course of the 5 days – 3 ticketed main stage shows, their children’s’ matinee show, an acoustic show to accompany the departure from Miami and a covers show. I managed to catch 4 of them, and I wasn’t disappointed at any of them (I would say that, though, wouldn’t I?)

Firstly, the sail away show, as it is known. The first day of the cruise is a strange one. We boarded the boat at around 12.30, and readied ourselves for departure at 4pm by eating as much as we could (hey, it was free) and drinking beer (sadly, was not free).

Just before we leave, there is a standard lifeboat muster, where you have to try on your life jacket and listen to instructions for how to get off the boat the fastest if anything happens (surprisingly, kicking men in the misters and elbowing children in the face did not feature highly).  Anyway, once this is done, it’s a mad scramble as two thousand rabid fans start running to get to the main deck to stake out a good spot for the first highly anticipated show. No joke, I think there would be less shoving if we were actually trying to get on a life boat. Still, I’m a big girl, and I can hold my own, and I managed to get a decent spot near the stage to see the boys.

There is something supremely thrilling about waiting to see the Ladies perform, especially if it’s been 2 years since the last time you saw them live. You see, they are not just a band. Let’s face it, you have to be something special to lure 2,000 hungry fans onto a boat in the middle of the Caribbean in these tough economic times, and they never disappoint.

The sail away show was fantastic. With the Miami skyline slipping past our heads, the boys belted out an hour-long set of classic tunes, and it was a relief to hear they had lost none of the sparkle, wit or talent that makes them such a pleasure to watch.

Next up was the “Snacktime” show, an afternoon show centred around the band’s newest album aimed at children, which turned out to be a bit of a hidden gem. Maybe it was the lure of the sunshine, or the cocktails, or maybe people weren’t expecting a full-on performance, but this show was not as busy as some thought it would be. The guys stuck to their winning performance strategy of “engage the audience, and play some fantastic songs really bloody well”, but managed to temper it for the kids. Don’t get me wrong, they are no gangster rappers, but there is something indefinably adult about their normal show, and they managed to dial this down without dumbing anything down, or losing any of the energy that defines their live shows.

As well as songs from the new album, which I have to say came across much better live than on record, the guys threw some of their more comedic songs into the mix, like “Another postcard”, “Grade 9″, and “If I had a million dollars”. The real magic was watching them deal with adversity without the f or s word (can’t have the little babies hearing swearies, now, can we?).

Wednesday saw an informal gig on the main deck. Billed as BNL covers show, no-one was really too sure what it was, but piled up anyway, and it turned out to be a bit of a treat as the band came out and played some of their favourite songs by other artists. Steven Page led them in a version of the Mountain Goats “This Year”, and we got a couple of Beatles songs and some rock classics, including a great version of “the immigrant song” sung by Sean Cullen’s wife, Kim Temple. An absolute highlight for me was watching Sean Hearn, the brother of band member Kevin, sing his version of the band’s “What a good boy”, which would have brought a tear to a glass eye, and brought more than a few to mine.

Thursday was time for the main event, our main stage show. There are three mainstage shows, and you get to pick which one you want to go to at booking. The last night is always popular because, well, it’s the last night, so the show was full to the gunnels.

Barenaked Ladies are famed for their ever-changing setlists. No-one goes to see them twice and hears the same set of songs. Sure, there are classic crowd-pleasers that almost always get an airing, like “Old apartment” and “Brian Wilson”, and there are newer songs that they obviously love to play live, like “Sound of your voice”, but there is always enough esoteric choices from their large back catalogue to keep the most avid fans happy.

This set list is the embodiment of this flexibility, as there was no new album to promote, and no “swing vote” fans to please, so we got our fill of obscurities and underestimated classics. It’s also, of course, completely different from the other two shows. The band kick off with one of my personal favourites “In the car”, to a great reception, and manage to pull out some stonking rarities over the course of the 2 hour 10 minute show. Literally, in the case of the two “balls” songs, where the band bring on a bucket full of ping pong balls, each with the name of a song never played on a cruise before, and pick two at random. It so happens we get two songs written and sung by the bassist Jim Creegan, “In the drink” and “I love you”, which I think it’s safe to say are NEVER played live.

Other rare highlights for me included the sublime “Long way back home”, which despite being one of the most emotional and heartfelt songs in their back catalogue, was only a hidden track on a limited edition reissue of the album Stunt, and “Another Spin”, a rarely played track from the last album proper, Barenaked Ladies are Men.

Throughout the show you get the feeling that the guys are on a last night high along with the crowd. It’s been a full-on 5 days, and Steven’s big voice is fraying at the edges, but the audience interaction and obvious affection give the gig a real love-in feel, like they are determined to go out of the cruise on a high.

Or maybe they were just gearing themselves up for the all night sesh with Acid Wish. Who knows? All I know is, I’ll be paying for this experience for a lot longer than I waited for it to come around, but it was worth every sheckle to experience something so uniquely funny, emotional, intimate and rewarding with my favourite band.