Barenaked Ladies Battle Through Illness to Deliver an Unforgettable Night in Manchester [Photos]

To start things off, there is some bad news as we arrive at the O2 Ritz in Manchester and find out that only Ed and Tyler from headliners Barenaked Ladies will be performing the show due to COVID with Jim and Kevin. Making the tough choice between either cancelling their first UK tour in a few years or improvising to give fans a show, the band decided that the show must go on. Now, given that fans had a choice to either attend or get a refund, the fact that the venue was still pretty rammed showed how much love there is for the returning Canadian rockers making this a night not to forget!

Opening up the show was Boothby Graffoe. Not knowing what to expect from the man, I have to admit that I have never laughed as much during a set. Finding out afterwards that the man is in fact a comedian then made sense. A brilliant bloke with a fantastic sense of humour, he kept the crowd giggling with this interactive performance which had everyone jumping on one leg to splitting the crowd down the middle for a competition of chanting a chorus from Hartlepool. I couldn’t tell if this was a comedy set from Boothby or a music set but, either way, this was one of the most fun sets I’ve photographed in a long time and is a must-watch for people who like to be entertained.

With an intro of “Just the Two of Us” booming out over the loudspeakers, Ed and Tyler appear clearly very grateful everyone has stuck around despite the situation. Joining the Dynamic Duo, Starsky & Hutch, Bert and Ernie, despite the turmoil of the past few hours, this pair absolutely nailed it! Despite having to improvise, and Tyler having to make do with whatever spare gear was left to make a kit, the whole thing worked really well. None of this was staged and you could tell at times Ed and Tyler were panicking about what to do but, even though they winged their way through the entire set, they made sure every single person attending got value for money.

Filled with humour, bad Dad jokes and good vibes for the night, everyone soon forgot that two members were missing as Ed and Tyler ensured that this night was truly magical for everyone involved. Improvising songs like the “1,000,000 Dollar Song,” the Big Bang Theory theme song, “Pinch Me” and “One Week,” the drama unfolding during the day is something that hopefully won’t affect the rock superstars for too long but one that the band clearly took in their stride to make sure fans who had been excitedly awaiting their return, were left taking away memories they wouldn’t forget for a long time to come.