EDMONTON - Barenaked Ladies without Steven Page is like Van Halen without either David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar.

Then again, it could’ve been an improvement. They just didn’t give it a chance.

Fans at the Jubilee Auditorium Wednesday night weren’t heard to complain that there was anything missing in a lively show that more or less hit all the high points from this venerable Canadian band. There was something missing, of course. In a band known for light-hearted folk-pop songs, Page provided the crucial element of the tragic clown, an edge of sadness and madness needed to throw the trademark Barenaked silliness into its proper context, plus the superior singing voice. Without Page, there was a gulf of pathos, a void of eccentric despair, a lack of pop-eratic adventure.

At least they’re working hard to establish an identity without him. They played to their strengths. They reworked their arrangements. They did a lot better than many rock bands that limp forward without their key founding members.

Hats off to remaining lead singer Ed Robertson, who did most of the heavy lifting in the vocal department. The band warmed up with in faithful, take-no-chances versions of Testing 123, The Old Apartment and a rocking version of Falling for the First Time before one of Ed’s classic freestyle rap routines. This one was improvised on the dinosaur named after Edmonton, the mighty Edmontosaurus. That went over big, as you might expect.

Also working well were change-ups from the usual rock band format. One of the best songs early in the show was Bank Job, featuring Ed and Jim Creeggan on bull fiddle (upright bass). That was followed by a terrific take on Sound of Your Voice done basically as a barbershop quartet, Ed, Jim and drummer Tyler Stewart throwing a dash of burlesque into their back-up vocals. Keyboardist/guitarist Kevin Hearn took the lead vocals on this one, and indeed on several parts Page had been known for.

There were only minor mutilations of some of the favourite hits. In Pinch Me, Ed made a minor lyric change thus: “Take a drink right from the hose and change into my sister’s clothes.” And we saw no thrown boxes of Kraft Dinner when the inevitable If I Had a $1,000,000 came along. Page was missed particularly in that one.

As for performance, there was the usual corny banter, but in some places, surprisingly, the mood was far more sober and serious than this band is known for. Maybe they don’t need the tragic clown anymore.

What didn’t work well, for the most part, were the new tunes from the new album, All in Good Time, an apt album title if there ever was one. Subway Car and others came off like filler, lacking either the wit or the pathos that distinguished most of their best-known hits. One exception was an Eastern European polka rap sort of thing called Four Seconds. That was just plain weird. But the rest of the new material seemed deflated, uninspired.

It’s tempting to say that opening act Joel Plaskett needs to get out more — but he clearly gets out entirely too much. Half of his songs performed last night seemed to be inspired from being on the road. Not that there weren’t a few good ones, of course. From an opening that evoked rolling, rolling, rolling down that great Canadian highway — “and gathering no moss” — Plaskett and partner Peter Elkas pumped out a set of quirky, strummy goodness. They brought the house down on a $7 Value Village keyboard and a song apparently called It’s Taking Too Long To Get There. Plaskett’s free-form comedic monologues sealed his triumph in a set much better than his past appearance here with his band, the Emergency, earning a well-deserved standing ovation. Barenaked fans love this guy.