Hold the hurricane: Barenaked Ladies ready to rock the tent at Iceberg Alley
The Barenaked Ladies are ready — finally — to rock at the Iceberg Alley festival at Quidi Vidi in the east end of St. John's, three years after the tent blew down in a hurricane the last time they tried to play there.
The Canadian rock band is headlining Wednesday night's launch of the annual festival, which runs until June 29. On the bill are Ontario rock band Tokyo Police Club and Newfoundland alt-pop group With Violet.
Barenaked Ladies made their last trip to Newfoundland as part of the Iceberg Alley festival in 2021. That concert was in jeopardy, however, when Category 1 Hurricane Larry touched down on eastern Newfoundland and destroyed the tent.
Organizers were quick to react, and moved the concert to Mary Brown's Centre in St. John's.
"Having to move the show indoors was a bit of a surprise for us," drummer Tyler Stewart told CBC Radio Wednesday.
"But it doesn't matter, you know? You're playing it in St. John's, everything is great. Doesn't matter whether it's arena or rock or you're rocking out on George Street…it's always a good show, so we're looking forward to coming back."
The band has over three decades of music to play in their catalogue, including hits like If I Had $1,000,000, It's All Been Done and One Week.
While Stewart said they've changed as a band since their early days, he and his bandmates still find joy in performing for crowds from coast to coast.
"When we listen back to some of those early tapes, we're playing so fast. There's excited young men up there in shorts jumping around. And now we try to bring a similar energy, but definitely as you get older it mellows out a bit," he said with a laugh.
"This lifestyle and this job has been all I've known for 30-plus years, and I still love it."
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