Barenaked Ladies perform at IU Auditorium

The IU Auditorium is seated room only, but last night, the audience made it a standing-only venue.

Canadian rock band the Barenaked Ladies made their Bloomington debut Tuesday night to an eager audience.

IU was a stop on their current tour promoting their twelfth album, “Grinning Streak.”
IU senior Lucky Dubrall’s name served her well last night.

As a die-hard fan, she said she is often disappointed with how few opportunities there are to see the band outside of Canada. The convenience of them coming to Bloomington, she said, was unbelievable.

“As soon as I (found out), I was waiting until the day to buy tickets,” she said. “I needed to see them so badly.”

Dubrall logged onto the auditorium website the first day tickets were available to the public and purchased hers.

“I had to,” she said.

All of the front-row seats were taken, but she bought her and best friend Stephanie Conklin strategic seats that provided them unobstructed views of their favorite band.

Ed Robertson, Barenaked Ladies frontman, vocalist and guitarist, first came onstage to announce their opening act, White Horse.

Nothing compared to the energy when the lights dimmed, came up again in flashing, neon colors, and the Barenaked Ladies themselves were standing center stage.

Within seconds of their opening song, “Odds Are,” the Barenaked Ladies had half of the audience on their feet, dancing and clapping along with the music’s upbeat tempo.  
When Robertson strummed the first chords of “Pinch Me,” though — one of their greatest and most well-known hits — the rest of the audience joined those standing, bringing the energy in the room to an all-time high.

Robertson said in between songs he was impressed with our town.

“It’s a beautiful campus,” he said, but catered to the older generations when he joked about the students, “full of lovely students ... looking at their phones.”

Despite their jabs at the younger generation’s reliance on technology like smartphones, the Barenaked Ladies’ classic banter seemed to keep everyone interested.

Dubrall spoke to this attribute before the show.

“From what I’ve seen, they’re really down-to-earth guys,” she said. “I can only imagine that the concerts are really good concerts.”

The band kept the audience engaged through classic hits that everyone knew the words to and led them through new songs not everyone was familiar with.

Robertson asked the audience to sing along with him during one of their new songs, “Gonna Walk.” Everyone was more than willing.

“I know it’s a tall order, for a brand new song,” he said, but encouraged everyone and their neighbor to sing.

“Look around at the people around you,” he said, and joked, “If they aren’t singing, they’re racists.”

After the last chord of the song, everyone seemed pleased with themselves, and the band said that they were proud of the audience’s enthusiasm.

“And now we know who’s racist,” Robertson said.

New or old, the audience embraced the Barenaked Ladies’ charm.

“Everything they do, I just really enjoy,” Dubrall said. “There’s nothing about them I hate. They’re fun. They’re really entertaining.”

Follow reporter Anicka Slachta on Twitter @ajslachta.