By Michele Deluca<br><a href="mailto:delucam@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Michele</a>
Well, they weren’t bare naked. And they weren’t ladies. But during a snowy, cold Niagara Falls lunch hour Monday a multi-platinum Canadian rock band gave a whole new meaning to the term “ladies who lunch.”
The Barenaked Ladies, who rocketed into the hearts of American fans in the late ’90s with songs including, “If I had $1,000,000,” and “Brian Wilson,” performed an unusual concert as part of a promotion for Star 102.5 radio.
It was a mini-concert at the Hard Rock Cafe, in front of about 120 fans — many of whom enjoyed lunch as the group played.
The concert was originally supposed to take place at the radio station headquarters in Amherst, according to Brian Demay, Star radio personality and program director at the station.
“We found out they were doing a radio tour,” he said. “Normally when something like this happens they come into the radio station and listeners are invited to watch them perform. But, it’s the Barenaked Ladies. I thought we could be doing something a little bit bigger than that.”
Demay took advantage of his station’s good relationship co-creating successful events with the Hard Rock, he said. After a few phone calls the concert was moved to the Niagara Falls restaurant.
The station then made the concert a top prize in all of its contests for about two weeks. The result was a hundred or so listeners enjoying an intimate lunch with the “Ladies” on Monday. Three ladies anyway. Band co-founder Steven Page left the band last year. Drummer Tyler Stewart missed Monday’s event because he was working at the Olympics, according to lead singer Ed Robertson. Robertson, Kevin Hearn on guitar and keyboard and Jim Creeggan on bass guitar, seemed plenty enough star power for the attendees.
“This was awesome. It’s so personal,” said Sheri Voss of East Aurora, who was at the concert with her mother, Rose Burus, her husband, Deeter, and two of her four daughters, Kiley, 12, and Katherine, 15 months.
Voss, a professor at Alfred University, won the tickets by nominating her mother, for “Star of the Day,” last Monday during one of the contests on the station.
“I teach about the Barenaked Ladies,” said Voss, who teaches literacy to teachers. “Their lyrics are all poetry put to music.”
As just one of many examples, she said, are the lyrics “crystal clear canvas” from their song “When I Fall,” about a window washer who relates to life being cleanable and renewable, just like a window.
Although they didn’t sing “When I Fall,” the group sang a handful of other favorites including “Pinch Me,” and “One Week,” and a couple of new songs, such as “4 Seconds.”
Danell Kanavel of Sloan won a Star trivia contest by naming Heidi Klum’s husband, Seal. She brought two friends and her husband Mike, who skipped a root canal appointment to attend. “Shhh. They think I’m working,” Mike said about his missed dental appointment.
“I wish we could have rock stars here every Monday,” said Sue Swiatkowski, head of marketing for the Hard Rock. “Everybody wanted to work this shift.”
Beyond a happy staff and the dozens of delighted fans, Swiatkowski said the concert was something she’d always dreamed of doing in the city where she was born and raised.
“To be able to bring this kind of excitement to Niagara Falls has always been a dream of mine,” she said. “It brings more life, more people, more business and more money to Niagara Falls.”
She looked around the packed restaurant full of smiling, clapping people and added, “It really helps to revitalize the area.”
Contact reporter Michele DeLuca at 282-2311, ext. 2263.
