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BARRIE - After flying in from a show Friday night in Edmonton, Barenaked Ladies mixed music and a bit of humour to drive home the overall message of the event.
Lead singer Steven Page sauntered onstage, strapped on an acoustic guitar and started the first verse of Brian Wilson, one of the band's best known nuggets. The crowd reaction was an instant sing-along -- as it's been hundreds of times before.
The only unusual occurrence was the cloud of dust or dry ice that created a slight haze around Page. The band closed the tune with Page doing a quirky little dance while Ed Robertson, showing off the tattoos on his upper arms, flailed away on acoustic guitar.
The group followed that by going back to another favourite, If I Had A Million Dollars. The folksy pop song had everybody singing along in unison while Page and Robertson, with Kevin Hearn on accordion and Jim Creeggan on standup bass, fleshed out the song.
"It's not about the music, it's about the message," Robertson said.
"But the music was pretty freakin' good!"
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The band had the crowd send a message of love and support to children in Tanzania, which Creeggan recently visited as part of an Oxfam fact-finding mission.
After blowing kisses to the audience, Page walked to the walkway in the centre and belted out an almost operatic snippet of Tears Are Not Enough, which got another huge response.