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TORONTO -- How much of a Scrooge do you have to be to resist the goofy charms of the Barenaked Ladies -- especially when they're playing a Christmas concert with loads of good cheer?
That question kept running through my mind during the first of the band's two holiday shows at Massey Hall last night -- a marathon two-hour-plus extravaganza of traditional favourites such as Jingle Bells and Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer, new seasonal originals such as Green Christmas and Elf's Lament ("I make toys, but I have aspirations") and assorted non-Christmas BNL hits such as Pinch Me and The Humour Of The Situation. And yet, despite the Christmas tree, the fireplace with stockings, the fake snow and the genuine goodwill, there were definitely a few of us in the excitable hometown crowd who failed to be swept up in the magic.
The Ladies -- Steven Page, Ed Robertson, Kevin Hearn, Jim Creeggan and Tyler Stewart -- were in fine vocal and instrumental form, particularly Page, whose voice rang out across Massey Hall, and secret weapon Hearn, who brought the same musical virtuosity to keyboards, guitar and mandolin. And the songs on the band's new Christmas album, Barenaked For The Holidays, are certainly likable and catchy. But the show seemed less like a solid Christmas show than a grab bag of oddly disparate musical elements -- everything from a kids' choir joining the band for Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah and We Wish You A Merry Christmas to a Pink Floyd-style take on Carol Of The Bells to a straight-faced run through It's All Been Done to some of Robertson's and Page's trademark cringe-worthy joke-raps. Oh yes, and intermission guest star Sean Cullen telling a wacky alternative Christmas story featuring a sacrificial turkey and a carol in honour of Kali, the Hindu god of murder.
Maybe the problem was the disjointed nature of the show, which lunged awkwardly back and forth between seasonal and non-seasonal songs.
There were some highlights, including Stewart's lively Feliz Navidad, and the poignant new songs Footprints In The Snow, Christmas Pics and Hanukkah Blessings, one of three Hanukkah songs on the new album.
It might have made more sense, though, to do a holiday set followed by one filled with hits rather than intersperse a Christmas folk mass with secular tunes. Or even better, save the familiar, overplayed hits for the next bona fide BNL tour.
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