I've seen Barenaked Ladies five times now (placing them, I believe, second to Bruce, one ahead of Dave Matthews and James Taylor) and been quite fortunate with opening acts ... until last night.

I don't know if there was an opening act when they played Notre Dame in 1995 (or early 1996) in support of Born On A Pirate Ship, the album that was rumored to potentially be their last if it didn't do well. Good thing that didn't happen. But since, I've seen them at the Garden State Arts Center with The Beautiful South opening; at Madison Square Garden with Guster; in the cornfields outside Chicago with Sarah Harmer and The Proclaimers; and last night. With Gavin DeGraw trying to be Justin Timberlake on the keyboard and some chick called Butterfly Boucher, whom BNL must really like because Steven Page made it a point to walk out on stage himself to introduce her. Nothing against her � she stood there alone playing an electric guitar and singing � but I don't know if I would've listened to her if she were on stage in a small New York club packed with four dozen people. Just not interesting.

Man, they sucked. Thankfully, though, around 7:28 p.m., moments after I said, "With two opening acts, they'd better get this started right at 7:30," Steven came out to introduce Butterfly. The changeover to Gavin was swift, done in minutes. The first guy to walk onstage, the guitarist � dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, a fleece vest and a stocking cap � looked like another roadie. I didn't check my watch, but BNL came on by 9 p.m., easily. Probably closer to 8:45.

It's interesting to see the band now, nearly nine years after I first caught them before they hit it big, hit the mainstream, had their songs used in commercials. Dave Matthews caught on around the same time but I don't feel the same attachment. I've seen BNL grow. They're all married now. They're tackling more somber subjects with their songs (they never could have pulled off "War On Drugs," about addiction and suicide, on the makeshift stage at Stepan Center on campus). They're dressing more crisply � slacks, jeans, simpler t-shirts or button-downs. They're clean-cut and shaven. In fact, I was actually somewhat stunned to notice Ed Robertson's tattoos peeking out beneath the sleeves of his t-shirt and (this was most likely the result of the lighting and the way it appeared on the video screens) it seemed like he had strands of gray hair. Even though the graying was just an illusion, I could picture him like that and that's when it occured to me that I've watched the evolution of the band.

Yet they still come to play and to be playful. They throw together a freestyle rap right there on stage ("Carvel is in the house/Carvel is in my mouth!" Then some stuff about Cookie Puss and Fudgy the Whale) and run and dance around, both for our pleasure and theirs.

Of their songs, I was reminded that "Pinch Me" is easily my favorite of all their singles, with "Another Postcard" a close second, and the former is among my favorite songs, period. But as with any concert I consider to be worthwhile ��more than just listening to a band play its music really loud � I came away with a better appreciation for a few tunes. Having not had a chance to fully listen to Everything To Everyone in order to form an opinion, to rank it among their other albums, I was hooked with last night's opener, "Maybe Katie." Other songs, particularly "Celebrity" and "Shopping" were just OK to me, but they were brought to life with the simple touches given to the former (a taped closeup of Steve on the screens and use of strobes) and the extended dance sequence during the latter that Casey describes. But the one song that went from just another track to a song and a performance I cannot get out of my head was "For You." A folksy tune with a soft, lilting melody, I remembered it from the album. There was a short break while the stage went dark and our attention was drawn to the video screens, where an amusing cartoon played. Then the lights came up on the band together around a single microphone at the center of the stage. Ed played his acoustic guitar and sang lead, Steve added harmony along with Kevin, who provided melody with the mandolin (I'm a sucker for a mandolin). Jim played his upright bass and he and Tyler combined their voices on backup.

I have set aside everything I love
I have saved everything else for you
I cannot decide what this doubt's made of
Though I thought over it through and through

In a book in a box high upon a shelf
In a locked and guarded vault
Are the things I keep only for myself
It's your fate but it's not your fault

And for every useless reason I know
There's a reason not to care
If I hide myself wherever I go
Am I ever really there?

There is nowhere else I would rather be,
but I can't just be right here
An enigma wrapped in a mystery,
or a fool consumed by fear

And for every useless reason I know
There's a reason not to care
If I hide myself wherever I go
Am I ever really there?

I will give you all I could ever give
Though it's less than you will need
Could you just forget, if you can't forgive
All the things I cannot concede

And for every useless reason I know
There's a reason not to care
If I hide myself wherever I go
Am I ever really there?

Beautiful.