The 1990s could always be looked back on as a hotbed of nearly every type of music. The early part of the decade saw the grunge movement push the hair metal acts to the side, and the decade ended with a cavalcade of boy bands and female pop artists. In between there was a mish-mash of everything else, including an emphasis on alternative and pop rock. For the last decade or so, Barenaked Ladies have been assembling some of their alternative/pop rock colleagues and embarking on a yearly summer outing called the “Last Summer on Earth” tour. For a part of this year’s edition, the band is joining forces with Fastball and Sugar Ray for a lengthy tour which touched down at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York on Sunday, July 27.
Since embarking on the original Last Summer on Earth tour, Barenaked Ladies have continued to make the tours a package tour, which is both a good and bad thing. You’re getting a variety of music each night, but the opening bands get barely 30 minutes to perform. Such was the case for Fastball, that three-piece band who had everyone asking “where were they going without ever knowing the way” in 1998.
First things first in regards to Fastball: it’s the same, original lineup they’ve had since 1995. Bassist Tony Scalzo, guitarist Miles Zuniga and drummer Joey Shuffield have stayed together and continued to tour and record, even though their days on the top of the charts are long behind them. That also means that most fans coming out to this tour are not familiar with most of their material aside from their two radio hits. That’s not to say they are not a good time live. The three guys seem genuinely happy together on stage and even dusted off a cover of “The Weight” by The Band which included Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies. Having played their hit “Out of My Head” earlier in the set, Fastball ended their show with a loud sing-along of their immensely popular hit, “The Way,” with Scalzo’s nearly perfect voice guiding everyone along.
FASTBALL SETLIST:
Sooner or Later
You’re an Ocean
Love Comes in Waves
Out of My Head
The Weight (The Band cover)
Fire Escape
The Way
In the later part of the 1990s, it was almost impossible to turn on MTV (it was actually respected back then) and not see Mark McGrath and his band Sugar Ray all over the TV. They seemed to be everywhere due to numerous charting hits and the constant exposure McGrath was getting. Let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for McGrath, the male frosted blonde spiked hair look may never have been a late 90’s trend. Until their show starts, it’s almost alarming to realize how many of Sugar Ray’s songs are recognizable to the audience. Choosing to open with their hit “Someday,” the band took the Bethel crowd on a 90’s nostalgia trip, including the massive sing-along of “Every Morning.” It is entertaining watching McGrath relive some of his favorite 90’s memories live on stage. For instance, before kicking into their hit “When It’s Over,” McGrath told a humorous story of him being named People magazine’s “Sexiest Rock Star” of Maybe it was being a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it does show the attention McGrath found himself getting in the late 90s. It was almost a bit too much as it made some people forget that he was even part of a band.
Something else to not be overlooked is McGrath’s long time association with guitarist Rodney Sheppard, someone who has been by his side since day one and is the person who wrote all the riffs that are still stuck in our heads 30 years later. Following a one-two shot of “When It’s Over,” and “Falls Apart,” McGrath jokingly said that the band likes to keep him on his feet by diving back into 90’s hip-hop and metal during the show. Instead of catching him by surprise, the band broke into a well-rehearsed cover of the Ginuwine sex-heavy cut “Pony.” It was definitely unexpected for the crowd who seemed to revel in the moment, and the follow up cover of Ugly Kid Joe’s “Everything About You.” Wrapping up their 45 minute set was a spot on run through their breakthrough hit, “Fly,” which included a tease of “What I Got” by Sublime.
SUGAR RAY SETLIST:
Someday / Groovin’
Every Morning
Answer the Phone
When It’s Over
Falls Apart
Pony / Everything About You
Fly
Taking the stage around 9:15, Barenaked Ladies kicked off their set with the upbeat “Gonna Walk,” which morphed perfectly into their early-era hit, “The Old Apartment.” For longtime fans of the band, the second number may have been a bit hard to digest as it was sung by guitarist/vocalist Ed Robertson instead of the original vocals of Steven Page who departed the band in 2009. It’s a problem numerous bands face in 2025, but for Barenaked Ladies it might hit a bit harder. For the first 20 years of their existence, Page was the voice everyone knew and came to love when it comes to BNL music. Not saying Robertson isn’t a good vocalist, but his voice and Page’s have noticeable differences and unfortunately it is very obvious when dipping back into their early catalogue. Early in the set, the band did a quick adlib which turned into a short cover of “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath in honor of recently deceased Ozzy Osbourne.
A mid set highlight occurred with “Pinch Me,” a song from 2000’s “Maroon” album which features lead vocals from Robertson. For this version, the harmonies were handled by muti-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn and bassist Jim Creegan – Creegan himself is one of the highlights of a BNL show as he enjoys every night on stage and loves coming to the front of the stage to engage the crowd. Other set high points included a lively “Brian Wilson,” – even though it was the “Brian Wilson 2000” version – and an acoustic pairing of “One Night” and “What Do We Need?” which saw drummer Tyler Stewart come to the front and join his bandmates on a drums.
Robertson talked about how a TV show helped catapult the band back into the mainstream before delivering a fun take on the theme song from “Big Bang Theory.” The crowd finally seemed to come to life at that point, and the hits kept coming in the form of “One Week,” and “If I Had $1,0000,000.” It was enjoyable for the fans, but the band looked like they were simply dialing it in at this point in the show, as did most other parts of the set. Following a brief snippet of “Love and Mercy” by Brian Wilson, it was time for the BNL medley of cover songs. It was a part of the show that was one of the most endearing parts of BNL shows for more than 20 years, but in 2025 it seemed to just take up space in the set list. There were bits and pieces of songs like “Pink Pony Club,” “The Gambler,” “Abracadabra,” and even “Sometimes When We Touch,” but that was about it. The energy was nowhere like it was of years past, and just seemed more shambolic than rehearsed.
By this point, a lot of people were wondering what can follow that, and BNL, perhaps in a “why the hell not” moment, decided to end their set with a cover of “Highway to Hell,” by AC/DC. If there was ever a song to make people leave a Barenaked Ladies concert, it’s “Highway to Hell.” For those who stuck around, they were treated to a two song encore of “Lovin’ Life,” and a cover of Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” which saw members of Fastball and Sugar Ray return for a singalong.
While the idea of a 90s package tour seemed like a great idea a decade ago, the crowd size at Bethel and other stops on this tour indicate the theme might be fading away. With so many hits from all three acts, a larger crowd was to be expected. Maybe some people are just over the 90s at this point, or maybe people are just over Barenaked Ladies. Whatever the reasoning, something needs to be reevaluated before next summer’s outing. If Barenaked Ladies want to keep this moniker going, they may have to completely revamp what bands they’re bringing along, or even consider having another band headline the tour.
BARENAKED LADIES SETLIST:
Gonna Walk
The Old Apartment
Adlib / War Pigs
Hello City / I Love You
Just Wait
Pinch Me
Big Back Yard
Clearly Lost
Brian Wilson
One Night (Acoustic)
What Do We Need? (Acoustic)
Light Up My Room
Four Seconds
Lookin’ Up
Odds Are
Big Bang Theory Theme
Jim Creeggan Upright Bass Solo / Mahna Mahna
One Week
If I Had $1000000
Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson cover)
Pink Pony Club / TEXAS HOLD ‘EM / The Gambler / Abracadabra / BIRDS OF A FEATHER / HOT TO GO! / Forever Young / Sometimes When We Touch
So Long, Farewell (Rodgers & Hammerstein cover)
Highway to Hell (AC/DC cover)
Encore:
Lovin’ Life
Summer of ’69 (Bryan Adams cover)
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