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This show was everything a summer outdoor concert should be.

Concert Review: The Last Summer on Earth Tour 2013 with Guster, Ben Folds Five, and Barenaked Ladies in Alpharetta, GA 7/26/13

If this was the last summer on earth, you could do worse than spend a night of it at a Last Summer on Earth tour stop with Guster, Ben Folds Five, Barenaked Ladies, and opener Boothby Graftoe. At least, that is, if every show is as much fun as it was Friday night (July 26) when these acts performed at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Before the show even began, some early fans got a small treat as an amazingly good “World’s Greatest Barenaked Ladies Tribute Band,” who first introduced themselves as Stunt and a few moments later as Three Shifts Down played a few songs right inside the gates. “We know all our … I mean, their songs, explained the lead singer, and “Not only do we sound just like them, but by the miracle of multiple plastic surgery procedures, we look like them.”

At a few minutes before 7 p.m., the “tribute band” left to get ready and the real show began.

Up first was Boothby Graftoe, a British singer/songwriter, comedian and playwright. He started the night out with humor and charm, despite starting with a song called “Kittens in a Bag,” which might have been disturbing for dedicated cat lovers with not that much of a sense of humor.


After Graftoe’s set, the first of the headliners came out. Guster may be one of the most underrated bands today. They play melodic acoustic indie pop with great harmonies, bongos, congo drums and guitar, combining it all to create very positive, fun energy on stage. By the end of the set they had some people up and dancing and everyone smiling and ready for a good time.


Next up was Ben Folds Five, of whom there are three. Ben Folds is quite possibly the most interesting piano/keyboard player who also sings lead vocals in alternative rock today. While they kept the interaction with the crowd to a minimum, they had the audience on their feet with their mix of sardonic humor, awesome melodies and piano-driven energy.

Drummer Darren Jessee also contributed the most charming part of the set, as he let a small, shirtless boy dance through most of it to the right of the stage that was barely lit. The kid had a kinetic bundle of karate kicks and dance moves that captivated me and a large part of the audience around me. In the last three minutes of the act, Folds actually made up a song in which he explained that the boy was “Darren’s little shaker.” It was that sort of a show: warm and friendly, where spontaneous things like a small boy dancing could happen and become part of the fun.


Among the songs from Ben Folds Five were a lovely number written by Jessee titled “Sky High,” and the new single, “Do It Anyway.”

Then The Barenaked Ladies came on stage and the good times immediately moved up a notch. This the BNL’s 25th year, and they are obviously still doing it because they are still having so much fun. They played a number of fan favorites and new songs from the new album, Grinning Streak. One of these was the sing-along song “Gonna Walk,” in which the crowd participated joyfully, as they did with old favorite “If I Had a Million Dollars.”

In addition to their own songs, Barenaked Ladies also included bits of such ’70s classics as “Iron Man” and full versions of ’80s classics like “Don’t You Want Me” and “Blister in the Sun.” They also brought members of each group up to perform with them. Boothby Graftoe’s number with the band was a delightful song called “Be My Yoko Ono.” Ryan Miller of Guster guested on “Gonna Walk,” and  Robert Sledge from Ben Folds Five also joined the group on stage for a number.

At one point Barenaked Ladies vocalist Ed Robertson noticed a spider walking in circles on the stage and pointed it out. The cameraman pointed the camera at it so that we could all see it on the big screen. One of the band members, I could not see who, placed a space alien toy next to the spider and the band and audience all spent a few gleeful moments watching the spider and alien interact. “Aliens love spiders,” Robertson explained. It was another example of the relaxed and spontaneous atmosphere of the whole show.

The word to sum it all up is fun. It was a group of great musicians playing and interacting and having fun with an audience who were there with the intention of having fun with them. The music was brilliant, the venue was great, the show ran for about four hours, and no one was bored. It was everything a summer outdoor concert should be.

About Rhetta Akamatsu

I am an author of non-fiction books and an online journalist. My books include Haunted Marietta, The Irish Slaves, T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do: Blues Women Past and Present, Southern Crossroads: Georgia Bluesand Sex Sells: Women in Photography and Film.

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