Barenaked Ladies work the audience

by Lisa Nicole Finegan staff writer

On Oct. 3, the Barenaked Ladies hit the stage at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. Originally from Canada, the band has grown tremendously in popularity in the past few months. Although they have put out five albums in America, it was not until this past year that their name really became well-known. In fact, it was the H.O.R.D.E. Festival, which they appeared in this past summer, that put them over the edge.

The excitement on Saturday night was amazing. The crowd could barely contain themselves as the opening band, Morcheba, played. This mellow group left the crowd at the edge of their seats ready for The Bare naked Ladies to go on.

A curtain surrounded the stage and the crowd began to get rowdy. A film projector showed a sequence of stunts from old black-and-white movies. It only took a moment to realize the connection to their new album, "Stunt."

Throughout the entire concert, band members Steven Page and Ed Robertson kept the energy high. Page was very entertaining and never once stopped his hijinx. The crowd loved every moment. The concert was a combination of old and new music, but of course all the classics were played. The song "One Week" was unbelievable, as was "The Old Apartment."

The band was great. They truly played towards their crowd. They kept talking to the audience, letting them know how much they enjoyed the city of Philadelphia and Gino's Cheesesteaks. Also, they were the first band to sing in the First Union Center and the First Union Spectrum in the same day, since they had the honor of singing the Star Spangled Banner at a Flyers game earlier that day.

During a crowd favorite, "If I Had $1,000,000,'J they

The band Barenaked Ladies appeared at the First Union Center on Saturday, Oct. 3. played on for about 10 minutes, improvising their way through. And, of course, pasta was thrown during the Kraft Dinner line and the crowd went wild. Another crowd favorite for the evening was when the band sang a medley of late '80s and early '90s songs.

Towards the end of the evening, a large BNL sign was slowly dropped from the ceiling. The band loved the mo-ment that1he-crowd went wild forihe-sign. They thanked the audience for coming out that night. They were particularly happy to hear that the concert was sold out. It was obvious to the crowd that the band really loves playing for the audience.

The highlight of the evening at the end of the concert was the encore of "Brian Wilson." This left the crowd screaming for more. No one in the audience could seem to get enough of this truly amazing band.