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August 2, 2025

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The Barenaked Ladies brought their Last Summer On Earth Tour to Blossom Music Center along with their friends Sugar Ray and Fastball for fun evening of '90s rock and roll. 

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Barenaked Ladies came out walking in a straight line, waving to fans as each member took their position on stage while playing "Gonna Walk."  That segued into the sing along "The Old Apartment" and the show was off and running.

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These Canadians are having fun on stage and it shows with the banter between band members as well as when they are addressing the audience.  Jokes, stories and anecdotes were abound all evening long.  Singer Ed Robertson noted that this was the penultimate stop on their summer tour.  He said that they had a day off yesterday and spent it in Cleveland celebrating their tour so they took all of the bands and crew out to The Corner Alley for a night of bowling and dinner. 

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Robertson also said that his manager came to Cleveland to give him some awards that he has won over the years.  Instead of putting them on a shelf, he decided to give them away as prizes to the crew during their bowling match.  He noted that Mark McGrath is quite the bowler.  Later he said that when McGrath was giving a speech, he looked at the award and realized it was an actual award that Robertson had won for writing the theme song for The Big Bang Theory. 

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This is just one example of the kind of fun stories that were told throughout the evening.

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But of course, a concert is about the music and plenty of that was played as well.  Hits like "Pinch Me," "Big Back Yard," "Brian Wilson" and "One Week" were all played with aplomb.  They also played some deeper cuts like "Clearly Lost" and "Light Up My Room" and even a few surprising covers that included "War Pigs," "Jump" and "Highway To Hell." 

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During the middle of the set, Robertson said "I'm ignoring that sign."  Apparently someone made a sign that said that they should get back together with original member Steven Page.  Robertson said, "it's like a couple that has been married a long time and then gets divorced.  Both people are happy and moved on,"  indicating that a reunion is not going to happen.

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Happy times and tunes continued as "If I Had $1,000,000" a mash up of current hits like "Pink Pony Club" "Texas Hold 'Em" and "Abracadabra" and classics like "The Gambler" and "Sometimes When We Touch" continued the party in the pavilion and the few people who chose to sit on the lawn.

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The band brought Fastball and Sugar Ray out for the encore to sing along with Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69."

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Sugar Ray was the second act on the bill and they definitely brought the good times, '90s vibe with them.  Mark McGrath was a bundle of energy as he was no-stop singing and dancing from one end of the stage to the other.

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Of course all of their hits were played to perfection.  "Someday," "Every Morning" "When It's Over" and their number one smash "Fly."

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Fastball got things going with a great set of straight ahead rock and roll.  Sugar Ray's drummer Dean Butterworth pulled double duty as he filled in for ailing Fastball drummer Joey Shuffield, and the group did not miss  a beat.  

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This fun, upbeat set closed with their biggest hit "The Way."

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I was a great night of music on a cool summer evening at Blossom.

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan

 

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