The roar of the crowd could not do justice to the quality of the show. No matter how long the fans cheered or how loud they got, it just was not enough. This past Friday, the Savvis Center in downtown St. Louis was filled with thousands of fans screaming for the Barenaked Ladies (BNL). Their name may seem unique enough, but their concert was even more so. After an inspiring performance by Guster, BNL took the stage to begin their hour and a half set that captivated the entire crowd.

From the beginning it was obvious that the band (or their staff) had done some research for the show. They said that one of the reasons they were glad to be in St. Louis during this time of year was because of the famous Ted Drewes pumpkin pie concrete. They took that fact and turned it into a joke about a toasted ravioli concrete.

The set added a lot to the show because it resembled something from a Mardi Gras celebration: a joker with several hoses coming from its head. The hoses were multi-colored and at different times they would light up with the rhythm of the music. In addition to the two Savvis Center video screens there were two extra screens that were part of the set. Those two had fingertips wrapped around the tops and bottoms of them, as though the joker was holding them up. Some of the joker’s other body parts also did interesting things. Twice during the show, a member of the band sang from the joker’s eye and the whole band entered and exited the stage through the joker’s mouth. When the mouth closed, the crowd got a wonderful view of tonsils and a tongue. A great effect!

In between most of their songs, BNL included short freestyle-raps or skits that seemed so natural it was almost like they were making them up as they went along.

Many of the raps truly sounded like improvs, helping to add flow to the concert. At a few different points, one of the band members would provide a rhythm and another would start singing or rapping. The crowd could tell the band was having a great time performing.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this concert was an effect the band included at the end. At one point, the band started talking about old fans and how appreciated they were. In honor of them, the band “decided to play every song they had ever written.”

Instantly on the television screen names of songs started rolling up the screen, just like it was an ad on television.

The band began to play parts of the songs and somehow they flowed from one song to the next with ease. People would cheer when certain popular song titles went by and as the band switched songs you could just see people getting excited. One of the biggest complaints by any concertgoer is that they did not get to hear their song.

Well, BNL took care of that by making sure at least a small part of their song was sung during that medley.

The band stuck in two encores before the lights flickered on, leaving fans cheering for more.