35 pictures of Barenaked Ladies

The Barenaked Ladies are melting, meow, mezzo-sopranos, mean-spirited, meteoroids, medicine men, meatballs, meat loaf and mentally ill.

At least that's what the funny little video montage at the beginning of their Saturday night performance at the Steelback Centre told us.

In fact, according to their latest album, the Barenaked Ladies are men.

Really, really funny men.

Between thrilling the audience with songs like One Week, Easy, Lovers In A Dangerous Time, The Old Apartment, What A Good Boy, Wind It Up, Brian Wilson and Pinch Me, they kept everyone in stitches.

The third song of the evening was one they had written for and dedicated to the Steelback Centre's own Marketing and Events Manager, Trevor Zachary.

Based on a letter Zachary left in their dressing room which Ed Robertson read on stage, the song tells him he must quit his job and leave Sault Ste. Marie now that he has fulfilled his life-long dream of bringing the Barenaked Ladies back to our city.

They also poked fun at the advertisement for Polti that appears on the boards around the arena.

Granted, Polti's logo is very strange and somewhat questionable.

"Feeling some discomfort? Live in Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding area and are in the need of a good thumbing? Call Polti!"

Ed Robertson went into great detail about his visit to the Bushplane Museum and warned us about the "movie that mists you to the point of discomfort."

Later, they spoofed on the boy-band craze as they broke into a dance number that turned bad when they began beating the snot out of each other.

Possibly the most surreal moment was when an audience member threw what appeared to be a stuffed monkey on stage during If I Had A Million Dollars.

What did Steven Page do with said monkey?

Why, he shoved it down his pants, of course.

He then broke into an impressive and moving demonstration of his superior vocal abilities as he sang Memory from Cats, while the monkey's cute little head poked out of the fly of his trousers.

All joking aside and after two encores, the remarkable talent and charisma of the Barenaked Ladies is what really made this show memorable.

They promise it will not be another 14 years before their return to Sault Ste. Marie.