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9/20/2006

Barenaked Ladies Are Me

No, I'm not naked as I type this and it would be a stretch to even call me a lady. The title references the new album from one of my favorite bands, Barenaked Ladies. Last night they did an in-store performance and signing at a Borders bookstore. It wasn't publicized very much, but E happened to see an ad a couple of days ago. I had to go! I left work around 6pm and called the store to find out the photo policy. The guy I spoke to said "Well, are you going to be here by 6:30? We're closing the store at that time to set up." Crap! It was improbable that I'd make it Century City Mall/Westfield Shopping Plaza/Whatever It's Now Called from Hollywood-near-Silver Lake in time. I pulled into the parking garage at 6:32. The machine wouldn't give me a ticket, so it was another 5 minutes or so before I parked. I got in and ran to the store. It was still open and barely anyone was there. Due to that, they had decided not to close down.

I bought the new cd, went to the restroom, and tried to find a place to stand where I might be able to see. I'm very short (but not technically a midget as some people claim) and having come from work, I had flat shoes on. I found a spot beside the info desk...Ed side...that seemed to work. There was a nice guy there too that I chatted with about music and concerts, etc. for awhile. At one point, Ed Robertson just walked right up to us...about 3 feet from me....looked right at me, smiled, and said hi...said hi to others near me and told the audience they'd be taking a couple of requests, so get together on that. He then walked away. Steven Page and Kevin Hearn were walking around the store too and some people were talking to them, but I didn't want to give up my spot, which promised a sort of decent view.

The performance started pretty much right at 7:30. They played several new songs, as well as a few older ones. One of the audience requests was "Same Thing," which Ed agreed to do as long as someone could remind him of the chords and a few lyrics. Steven Page requested that Jim Creegan sing "Spider In My Room," which was a real treat. Also, each band member took turns throughout the show doing a "reading," since they were playing in a book store. Ed read from a book about Scrabble tournaments, Kevin chose a book about striptease workouts, Steve read, rather dramatically, from "Hacking Wireless Networks for Dummies," Jim picked Bob Greene health book and Tyler, gotta love Tyler, read from a trashy Jackie Collins book...it was great!

We all lined up, according to wristband color, after the show for the signing. I've met the band several times, as I'm sure many of their fans have. This was one of the quickest moving signings though, as Borders was really committed to getting everyone through the line. Now I'm really looking forward to digging into the new album and the upcoming concert at Universal in November. I took a bunch of photos (yeah, mostly of Ed) that I'm slowly uploading to my flickr site.

I couldn't help but think about all of the BNL shows and signings I've been to over the past nearly twelve years. There are probably some good stories there, that perhaps I'll share someday, including calling Ed over to our car to sign my Maybe You Should Drive cd after a show at the Costa Mesa Hard Rock Cafe in December 1994, the Tower on Sunset in-store performance in early '95, the show at the American Legion Hall in Hollywood in 1995 where a crazy drunk guy dove off the stage and landed right on top of me, scaring the bejeezus out of me, and the 1997 H.O.R.D.E. tour show, that I won free tickets to from KROQ, and where I managed to get invited backstage by chatting up the record company representative. I think it was October of 2000 that I flew to Philadelphia for a conference and my sister-in-law picked me up from the airport and we went straight to a BNL concert. Good, good times.

3 comments:

madretz said...

That's totally cool. I'm a little bit jealous! You got some great photos, too. I think I'm gonna haveta get their new cd.

Brenda Griffith said...

I am not a live music fan anymore--if I ever was. But for the BNL I make an exception. "Alternative Girlfriend" recorded at Tower Records in Chicago and released on one of the WXRT Live from the Archives cds was my first exposure. When we were first dating, D took me to see them at a club downtown Chicago. The tour was Rock Spectacle. Snow fell softly on us as we snuggled in line. *sigh* The good old days.

I have downloaded the new album but have not listened yet. Maybe today.

Jodi said...

I appreciate that Jenn, but Justin Timberlake with my beloved Durans? It's too much!!!

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