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Show Review: Last Summer on Earth Tour finally visits AZ with Barenaked Ladies, Gin Blossoms

The Last Summer on Earth Tour is finally underway and Barenaked Ladies, Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket are thrilled to be back on the road after two years of Covid-related delays.

Hometown heroes Gin Blossoms are celebrating 30 years of their seminal album New Miserable Experience and had an Arizona street renamed in honor of the occasion. The people of Phoenix ride or die for Gin Blossoms, showing that love by immediately jumping to their feet during the band’s set. Armed with a tambourine and good vibes, singer Robin Wilson got up close and personal with the front row on “Hands Are Tied” and the classic closing number “Hey Jealousy”.

Barenaked Ladies are a party and a half with their dynamic stage presence, colorful visuals and all the songs we can never forget. Their energy is akin to a ska band- minus the plethora of horns- and the quartet jumps across genres without ever crossing the line into corny. 

Naturally, you’ve got all the hits expected in their set, but with a few decades in the game, it couldn’t have been easy narrowing down the setlist to only 23 songs. With such a wide range of ages in the room, many attendees had opted to sit or stand quietly for much of the show, but Barenaked Ladies had everyone moving their feet. 

“Live Well” and “Man Made Lake” showed off the multifaceted talent of the band members, as vocal duties were shared for nearly the entire set- this along with the addition of keys, a drum swap and more. Even the addition of the Big Bang Theory Theme Song was a nostalgia trigger and one that sparked surprised recognition in much of the audience.

The energy levels remained high till the end of the night, as we got into the big name hits like “One Week” and “If I Had $1,000,000”. The band also treated everyone to a mashup of classic covers, a full on Led Zeppelin rendition and closed the long-awaited night with “The Old Apartment”.

Fans in every demographic turned up to show love to bands that have become true classics and we certainly hope this isn’t the last summer we get the chance to revisit their stellar songs.

Check out all the photos from the show!

Story and photos by Olivia Khiel