Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Barenaked Ladies, Violent Femmes & Colin Hay @ Uptown Amphitheater



I keep telling myself that I don't need to keep going to Barenaked Ladies shows, but they keep bringing such great opening acts, how can I not.  Tonight was no exception and here I am back for more.

Colin Hay is an Australian treasure.  Men At Work's Down Under should be our national anthem, and the outcome of a copyright lawsuit for that song is a sham.  Needless to say I was there in the rain before he came out to do a solo set.  Even though it was only a half a dozen songs, his voice and between song banter was well worth the time.  A great rendition of Overkill and the aforementioned Down Under were highlights.  Half an hour in the rain well spent.

As if the weather Gods were watching, the rain stopped as the first notes of the Violent Femmes for song, Blister In The Sun, rung out.  What a way to open a set.  One of the most anthemic songs of my lifetime was immediately followed by Kiss Off and the next 50 minutes was a reminder of the reason this is the 7th time I've gone to see the Femmes.  There were a couple of new songs I didn't know, but the incredible set was filled with one great song after another.  Big finish with Gone Daddy Gone and Add It Up had the crowd on their feet and everyone singing.  The Femmes could have easily been the headline act tonight as I think they are a band that deserve to be in the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame (though I don't see it happening).

Violent Femmes Setlist Uptown Amphitheater, Charlotte, NC, USA 2015


The Barenaked Ladies have a new record to promote on this annual summer tour and they do a good job of only sprinkling the new songs in with some of the trusted favorites.  For me the show started 6 songs in with Brian Wilson.  They bought Colin Hay out to do Men At Work's Who Can It Be Now? (which explains why he didn't do it earlier).  The Big Bang Theory Theme is a great novelty but the 3 song finish of One Wee, Million Dollars and the Barenaked Rap was the big highlight.  A quick 2 song encore finishing with Led Zepplin's Rock & Roll was a perfect finish to a great night.  I won't say I won't see them again - let's just see who they bring next year.

Barenaked Ladies Setlist Uptown Amphitheater, Charlotte, NC, USA 2015


The Crap Facts:
This is my 389th concert.
This is my 3rd concert at Uptown Amphitheater.
This is my 34th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 38th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 197th concert in the USA.
Colin Hay is the 461st band I've seen.
Colin Hay is the 50th different band I've seen in Charlotte.
This is my 7th Violent Femmes concert.
This is my 4th Barenaked Ladies concert.

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