Canadian alt rock legend Bif Naked dropped in on Orleans Thursday night, with a tour stop at the Shenkman Arts Centre.
She started the night by strolling out onto the stage in her pyjamas, clutching her little dog — the cleverly named GrrrAce. She took a few minutes to introduce the opening act, her dear friend, comedian Bee Bertrand.
Bertrand was instantly likeable and very funny, as he told hilarious anecdotes about how he became fast friends with Bif Naked, and his love of talking to spammers, including a play by play of a recent spammer conversation in his DMs that left the audience laughing out loud.
After a short intermission, Bif Naked came onstage alone and delivered an emotional solo version of her song “Tell On You,” which was crushingly beautiful. When her band hit the Shenkman stage, the show continued with a dynamic and unique set that rocked the east end crowd. There were full rock numbers like “Tango Shoes” and “Moment Of Weakness,” the latter of which caused Bif to joke with the band about placing the song so early in the set.
Mid-set Bee Bertrand came back out and facilitated a quick Q&A session, where fans in the crowd had the opportunity to ask questions. Bif was humble and funny, and offered heartfelt and humorous answers, weaving her own stories into the spaces between songs. The set included newer material too, from their most recent album, Champion, such as the song “Sweetpea,” as well as the title track. Having had a few health issues in the past, she also took the time to thank nurses and caregivers, dedicating the song “Lucky” to them.
Bif and her band clearly have fun together, and the smiles and banter between them made the show even more enjoyable to watch.
Towards the end, bassist and longtime manager Peter Karroll, joked that “now is the time when we would normally leave and then come back” for an encore, so he asked the crowd if they wanted to just cut right to a couple more songs, to which he received a resounding yes. They ended the show with Bif’s cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” and her smash single “I Love Myself Today,” which had the crowd on their feet and dancing in the aisles.
Keep your eyes out for Bif Naked’s upcoming documentary, which she hopes to be able to screen here in Ottawa.
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