BWW Reviews: Last Summer on Earth Tour Hits All the Right Notes

It's always a tricky thing trying to find the right combination of two big-name bands to tour with each other. Finding four bands to fit together as a package is next to impossible. The Last Summer on Earth tour, which rolled into Columbus on July 5, struck that rare balance with the combination of Boothby Graffoe, Guster, the Ben Folds Five and the Barenaked Ladies.

In front of a nearly sold-out crowd at Lifestyles Communities Pavilion, the four bands played with and played off each other to provide a perfect blend of styles and sound. BNL front man Ed Robertson (drums), Kevin Hearn (keyboards) and Jim Creeggan (standup bass) for Graffoe, a singing comedian from England before most of the capacity crowd had arrived at the LC. Robertson then joined Guster for the song "Happier." In return, Graffoe took over lead vocals for a spirited version of "Be My Yoko Ono," including an impression of Yoko as played by Gollum from the LORD OF THE RINGS series. Finally, Folds then joined the BNL quartet on piano for fan favorite "If I Had A Million Dollars."

But it was the differences among the four bands that gave the night something for everyone. The Barenaked Ladies provided substance to the expression "addition by subtraction." The Canadian band's momentum seemed stunted by the 2009 departure of Steven Page, who had shared lead vocals with Robertson for many of its top hits. The band, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary on this tour, was known for the comedic banter between Robertson and Page during its live shows.

However, Robertson shoulders the responsibility of being the sole front man with ease. The band mined its catalog of nearly three decades worth of material, playing "Pinch Me," "These Apples," "Brian Wilson" and "History of Everything (the theme to the TV show BIG BANG)" as well as "Gonna Walk," "Limits" and "Best Damn Friend" from their new album "Grinning Streak."

BNL is at its best when it plays off the cuff. In concert Robertson always regales some adventure he had during the day in the hosting city and then turns it into a song. The July 5 tale was about being snubbed at a local coffee shop. The quartet then closed out the regular set with a wacky medley of pop songs including Taylor Shift's "I Knew You Were Trouble," Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Store" and Manfred Mann's "Blinded By The Light."

While BNL's portion was marked by how they responded without Page, the Ben Folds Five's set was amplification by addition. After touring as a solo act since 2000, Folds reunited his ironically named band with the return of bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee.

Folds, who will return as a judge on the TV show THE SING OFF, is a musical chameleon. When he came through Columbus in 2009, he performed with the Columbus Symphony which provided a classical music tweak to his songs. At the LC show, Folds punctuated his return to a harder edged sound by slamming his piano stool against the keyboard of his Baldwin piano for the final note of "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces."

As it turned out, Folds didn't need his stool for most of the night, standing behind the piano while cranking out energized renditions of "Katie," "Erase Me," and "A Song for the Dumped." Folds also slowed down the pace for melodic versions of the haunting "Sky High" (with Sledge accompanying him on a stand-up bass) as well as "Landed," "Brick" and a snippet of Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown." Like BNL, Folds knows the Columbus landscape, tossing references to the vegan pumpkin chili at Betty's Fine Food and Spirits on High Street.

Graffoe, who played songs from his new CD "Nomad" including the delightfully wacky "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," set the mood for the evening. Guster, the trio of Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller and Brian Rosenworcel, then took over for a mostly acoustic 11-song set. Being an opener for a such a big show was not the most nerve wracking thing the band did all day. The trio was invited to throw out the first pitch of the Columbus Clippers' baseball game at nearby Huntington Park.

"There were a lot less people there than there are here tonight," Miller joked. "But that was a lot more nerve wracking. I know a lot of you are here to see to see Ben Folds and the Barenaked Ladies but right now, you're seeing Guster, like it or not."

As it turned out most of the crowd did like it as the Boston band went through a set list that included "Barrel of a Gun," "Satellite" and "This Could All Be Yours." The songs seemed to complement the ones by the Ben Folds Five and BNL.

The tour is labeled as "The Last Summer On Earth," but here's hoping Columbus gets to see another four-band bill like this again ... soon.