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Barenaked Ladies Concert
by Regina Hinrichs

The theme for the Press Event commemorating the grand opening of “Soarin” was “A Taste of California.” They had CA street signs up, California wines and food, a tribute to Hollywood and the Canadian group Barenaked Ladies performing. They may not have been a fit with the West Coast theme, but it was the perfect match for providing an unforgettable end to the two day celebration.

First, please give me a moment as I breathe a sigh of relief after googling “Barenaked Ladies.” I wasn’t sure what the results would be, but it’s all good, I don’t need to head to a confessional.

The stage was set up between the Land and the Imagination Pavilions. As you’ll see from the pictures and video, we were right in the front row. Aside from the filming, this proved to be very beneficial later on.

I’ve been to national events where the entertainers don’t even bother to remember which group they’re appearing in front of. I would have been thrilled just to hear “One Week” but Barenaked Ladies doesn’t just come out and sing. They put so much thought into where they’re performing and have such a delightful self-deprecating sense of humor that we were laughing one minute and singing the next.

They joked about the infamous Turkey Legs, wrote an Epcot song and they let us in on a well kept secret. They were actually home in Toronto while the group appearing on stage was Animatronics. They not only charmed the Canadian contingent, everyone was a fan by the end of the night.

What was supposed to be an hour and a half long concert went an extra fifteen minutes. The crowd wouldn’t let them leave without an encore. Even a brief rain shower didn’t dampen our enthusiasm.

Here’s the part where being up front comes into play. At the end of their show they shook hands with some of us! I felt like a teenager again when both Steve and Ed came over. If I said that I’ll never wash my hand again, I’d be lying but it was an incredible thrill.

Now excuse me as I head out to Best Buy to buy some Barenaked Ladies CDs.

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