Barenaked Ladies• Last Summer On Earth Tour• Semisonic• Del Amitri• June 13, 2023• Red Butte Garden
Reviewed and Photographed by Josilyn Wakkuri Lybbert
The recent rain and storms stayed at bay just long enough to make for a perfect atmosphere for an outdoor concert at Red Butte Garden Amphitheater on June 14th! The Barenaked Ladies, along with Semisonic and Del Amitri brought their Last Summer On Earth Tour to Salt Lake City, and people were clearly thrilled about it. The show was totally sold out! Fans of literally all ages, from babies and on, came out to the gorgeous Red Butte Garden Amphitheater for the show. I had only been to the venue once before and remember it being pretty, but wow! Flowers were blooming across the venue and in front of the stage, there was a pond with a waterfall, and it was just all around beautiful. So much so that each band commented on it at least once during their sets!
Del Amitri
Originating from Glasgow, Scotland, Del Amitri was the first band to start the night off! The alternative rock group’s first song was, “Not Where It’s At,” which was upbeat and chill at the same time! I immediately noticed how strong and clear their voices were! They were also pretty interactive with the crowd and seemed super friendly and happy to be there!
“Always the Last to Know,” and, “All Hail Blind Love,” followed the first and the crowd gave them their undivided attention! The band said that their next song was a drinking song called, “Missing Person”. Which had a folky sound to it and matched their description of the song! After singing a song called, “Lonely,” they played one of my recent favorite songs (that I could’ve sworn was in one of the Shrek movies, but it was not – and if you Google it, I’m not the only one who’s thought that!), “Roll to Me.” I feel like I’ve just always known that one.
So it was a treat to hear it live, and everyone seemed to feel the same way! They sounded just as good as they did on the track that came out in 1995! Del Amitri finished their set with, “Here and Now,” and bid the crowd farewell with a “Cheers! Have a good evening!”
Semisonic
Semisonic was the next band on stage! When they walked out, they said, “It looks comfy out there! We might join you later, but for now, let’s play some music! It’s been a while!” Their first song, “F.N.T.,” had their set off to a rocking start! That song sounded so, so familiar. Following the show, I looked it up and it’s included in the soundtrack of the popular movie, 10 Things I Hate About You! People were loving it and were quickly up and dancing! They played, “Singing in My Sleep,” next. The band members would walk around the stage to jam together or play to and interact with individual fans in the crowd. Which of course was well received! Before singing a song called, “DND,” they let the crowd know that it wasn’t about the game Dungeons and Dragons. But rather DND stood for “do not disturb.”
Semisonic then took a minute to talk about what a beautiful area we were all in that night. They described walking through the gardens as “restorative.” As they introduced their next song, “Little Bit of Sun,” they said that typically, when it was their set time, the sun would be nearly down. So they would reference the song title, beckoning a little more sun. But they figured that they had about 100% sun at that point and it was hot! After playing songs like, “Secret Smile,” and, “Great Divide,” they invited everyone to stand up and sing along to the next song, the iconic, “Closing Time.” People were thrilled and did as they were asked! They soaked up every minute of Semisonic’s last song of the night!
Barenaked Ladies
The hot sun that Semisonic had mentioned, quickly disappeared by the time Barenaked Ladies took the stage. And it was chilly, but that didn’t hinder fans from their excitement! I admittedly didn’t quite know what to expect from Barenaked Ladies. Who’s name, they said, was a joke thirty-five years ago until it just stuck! I definitely knew their hits, but I went in not knowing any of their other music or even really what kind of music they played. I was quickly in awe of the whole band’s happy, chill demeanor, and their positive, almost whimsical, fun music!
The goodness on stage was reflected throughout the audience as people danced, smiled, and sang along with the group! They started out with the songs, “Matter of Time,” “It’s All Been Done,” and, “Roll Out,”. Prior to it, they said, “This song is more fun if you get up and dance!”. They played and sang a rap/band introduction that was personalized to the show. I wish I would’ve recorded it so I could document it here. Because the lyrics really were quite clever! That bit ended with a little Taylor Swift cover of, “Shake It Off.” They asked the crowd if anyone knew her. That they tell her they love her and joked that their tour was compared to hers quite often.
BNL said that while there is the same amount of dancing at their shows as there is at an Eras Tour show, people will never see their belly buttons. They also noted that it is easier to get tickets to their show than it is for the Eras Tour. Except for that night, because Utah had sold the place out! They played some new songs throughout the night as well, which people were excited about. The band expressed that they were grateful for that! Happy, optimistic songs like, “Lookin’ Up,” and, “Big Backyard,” were also on the roster. They brought a smile to my face and those around me. The band even mentioned that fans were making them smile, too! Barenaked ladies sang a song called, “Brian Wilson,” which was a thought-provoking one!
As I mentioned before, I had limited Barenaked Ladies knowledge leading up to the show. But the day of, I found out that they were responsible for the TV show Big Bang Theory’s theme song. So it was a lot of fun to hear that live! Up next was the big hit that I knew best! When I think of my earliest memories of listening to the radio, Barenaked Ladies’, “One Week,” is one of the songs that takes me back! And again, to hear that song live was something special. They knocked it out of the park! “If I Had $1,000,000,” followed, and the crowd seemed particularly excited about that one!
The band pulled off an incredible medley of covers after that including, “If You Could Read My Mind,” by Gordon Lightfoot, Miley Cyrus’, “Flowers,” “As It Was,” by Harry Styles that led nicely into a-ha’s, “Take on Me,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” and, “So Long, Farewell,” from The Sound of Music, and rounded out with, “Rock of Ages,” by Def Leppard! There was really something for everyone in that bit and people ate it up! It was so much fun! The night ended on a high note with, “The Old Apartment,” and a cover of Steve Miller’s “Jet Airliner!”
Red Butte Garden Amphitheater was the place to be on Wednesday night! Filled with laughs, dancing, and good music, what more could a person want? Barenaked Ladies, Semisonic, and Del Amitri did phenomenally well and put on a great show with fun music! I think it’s safe to say that Utah would have them any time!
