Barenaked Ladies play Worthing and Portsmouth on first UK tour in four years

On Saturday, March 19 they play Worthing Assembly Hall; on Sunday, March 20 they will be at Portsmouth, Guildhall.

And as far as Tyler Stewart from the band is concerned, they have been away too long.

“The last time was something like 2018 and then the pandemic shut everything down and at this point it seems like everything before the pandemic was just so long ago.

“It feels like it might as well have been 1918 when we were last in the UK.

Have you read: Why her Kitchen Discos were so special for Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Guildford and Bexhill dates“The UK is important to us. We’ve been going there probably since the early 1990s.

“It was 1991, I think, the first time that we played there, and in the years since the band has grown so much and its popularity has surged and waned and surged and waned but the great thing is that we always feel that when we play the UK we always have a really receptive audience.

“It is almost like the UK audiences are a lot more discerning.

“We feel like we are being really listened to, that the audiences are there to really think about the music rather than just there to be hanging out and partying and just being really distracted.

Have you read: Everything you need to know: Chichester Festival Theatre summer 2022“We always feel like when we’re in the UK we’ve got the audience’s attention, like they’re really checking us out.

“If you are in Canada (where the band is from) you always feel like the audience is much more reserved.

“It’s that Canadian politeness whereas in the US the crowd are just ready to go from the first downbeat.

“They are drinking and partying and the lot. The US is a really fun place to play but in the UK it just feels like there is a really good listening ethic that we really like.”

So it’s great to be back.

“For me personally I took the pandemic pretty hard. I gained a bunch of weight because I was sitting there eating too much and watching Netflix.

“But I’ve got it together in the last little while and I’ve managed to get the weight off and get into a healthier state of mind.

“We have been able to play shows since the middle of last year and that has been incredibly therapeutic for us. It was close to 18 months that we had no shows.

“The other good thing is that we had just finished an album just before everything shut down long term and we managed to focus on that and finish it off and that gave us a point as a band which was good.”

“Music is the great uniter in a lot of ways. For us being able to create new material is very important going forwards.

“In a concert we always play the hits, the songs that people have paid good money to see but we also pepper it with new songs and go deeper into our catalogue.

“ I appreciate artists that forge ahead with new material.

“But it is also good to see them also respect what they’ve already done and what has put them where they are.”

It’s a balance.

“The desire to make music is what drives you, and I’m just finding it so enjoyable. I feel like we have not said everything yet that we have wanted to say as a band, and that’s in 30 plus years, but I also feel like we have a very privileged position just to be able to do this.

“ I’m actually enjoying the music more than I ever did and I think the pandemic has had something to do with that.

“Having had it taken away from you for a couple of years, well, I think it makes you realise just what a great position we are in to be able to do this and to make music with a great bunch of guys and to make music that brings people together especially when people have been so starved of that collective experience right now.”

Tickets for the Barenaked Ladies gigs are available from the venues.

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