Barenaked Ladies Have Verve, Need Sharper Edge

Can a band be too entertaining?

It’s a tribute to Barenaked Ladies’ onstage sharpness and verve that its show Friday at the Freedman Forum in Anaheim could raise such a question. After all, not many of the all-male quintet’s rocking cohorts in the twentysomething generation know or care much about entertaining; according to the prevailing “alternative” ethos, the aim of a concert is sheer sonic impact and psychodrama leading to catharsis. “Entertainment” is virtually a dirty word.

That’s too bad. Entertainment is a pleasure, and with the Toronto-based Barenaked Ladies, you get entertainment on a high level: not tired, rehearsed shtick, but a push for spontaneous fun built around banter and musical jokes made up on the spot, responding to the individuality and quirkiness of the place and time at hand.

In its willingness to entertain with onstage antics, its sharp, varied, melodic-rock approach, and its aim of saying something insightful about deeper experiences in its songs, BNL carries on the tradition of Squeeze and Crowded House.

But measured against those bands, BNL falls short. The songs are often catchy and inventive, but they don’t cut as deep as the best pop-romantic explorations can. And the set was so full of mirth that it missed any chance of weaving and holding contrasting moods. When it can devastate as well as delight, Barenaked Ladies will have donned the garb of a first-rate rock band.