If you live in the Buffalo Niagara Region and have ever considered yourself a fan of Barenaked Ladies (BNL), I hope that you found yourself inside The Riviera Theatre on Saturday night to bear witness to the finest show I’ve ever seen Steven Page play. Songs that became a part of my musical DNA at a young age were presented in a way that I had never heard before, because the absence of drums necessitated a synergy amongst the trio that made everything sound fuller than expected. The fact that they earned three encores yet still left a fair amount of Grade A material on the table is a testament to both the catalog and how much Page has thrived since setting sail for a new shore as a solo artist.
Classic cuts such as “It’s All Been Done,” ‘Jane,” and “Alternative Girlfriend” blended seamlessly with new tracks “The Golden Age of Doubling Down,” “Something About Me,” and “Zoom” to create an atmosphere that was as close to pre-COVID as you’re going to get in 2023. People coming together to achieve the same goal of being elevated by the music while the band seizes every opportunity to make the show feel unique to that moment in time. It’s a beautiful thing to see and this evening embodied it in droves.
Page’s voice has aged like a bottle of 1961 Château Cheval Blanc and the depth of emotion he brought to “What a Good Boy” and “Tonight Is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel” likely caught you off guard if you were expecting the goofiness of “One Week” for two hours straight. That’s not to say that his natural comedic flair wasn’t present throughout, because it was. He just saved the banter for those moments when the soulful nuances of the music weren’t doing the talking.
Guitarist Craig Northey contributed some sparkling leads and Kevin Fox’s cello added plenty of low end, but the way in which their voices harmonized with Page’s is what really sent this show over the top for me. The choruses soared, and, as much as I loved the original BNL, their interpretation of this material as a trio was just as formidable.
A one-two punch of “Call and Answer” and “Shoe Box” sent everyone home on a high, although an unprecedented fourth encore featuring “Break Your Heart” wouldn’t have been unwelcome.
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