Five For Fighting joined the second leg of Barenaked Ladies’ Last Summer On Earth 2023 tour on June 28 switching off with Semisonic. The tour made a stop in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina on July 4, 2023 at the beautiful Red Hat Amphitheater. It was blistering hot and the humidity level was high, so everybody was having a sweaty 4th of July! 

Del Amitri kicked off the show and they sounded amazing. We heard more than one person saying ‘they sound just like they used to!’ Five For Fighting hit the stage with singer John Ondrasik walking out waving two small American flags. He then picked up an acoustic guitar and went into “American Town.” He then sat down at the piano and the memories started to flow out for people in the audience. “The Riddle” and “Easy Tonight” took people back in time to certain places and certain events that happened while that song was playing. Isn’t that the amazing thing about music? It makes us all become time travelers when we hear certain songs.

John then introduced his next song which was “Can One Man Save The World” and explained its backstory to the audience. He explained that it was filmed in Ukraine at an airport that housed the world’s largest plane. At the beginning of the war, Putin had his men blow it up and they took over the base. The Ukrainian army fought back and took it back from the Russians. John and a few of his crew went over there and filmed it at that base, inside of the blown up plane. He also performed the song with the Ukrainian orchestra made up of people who had either lost someone in the war or were missing someone because of the war. He played the audio of the orchestra as he and his band played. Images from his visit to Ukraine were projected onto the screen behind them while they played the song. It was a very powerful and moving performance that got the band a standing ovation. John then told the crowd that some of the people who worked on the video were there in the crowd and he introduced them to a thunderous ovation.

“Superman (It’s Not Easy)” was next and smiles were seen all over the amphitheater as the crowd sang along. How do you keep that feeling going? You hit them with a combination punch. You just hit them in the feels with “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” so you follow that one up with “100 Years” for another dose of the feels. A sing-a-long version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was next to warm everyone’s’ vocal chords up for a long evening of singing with Barenaked Ladies. John briefly left the stage but then returned for an acapella version of “God Bless America” which he filmed so that his wife could see. He also posted it to his Facebook page.

Overall, it was a pretty amazing set delivered by John and his band. It would be great to see him doing a headline performance. This show was like putting on your favorite sweatshirt or pair of comfy pants that you haven’t worn in a long time. As soon as you put it on, you’re greeted with that familiar, feel good feeling that you had been missing. This was a fun, feel good evening packed full of great memories triggered by great songs. We may have been sitting/standing in 90+ degree weather, but those songs transported us all throughout the years. Music is a powerful and beautiful thing. We should all be glad that we have it in our lives. 

Review and pix by I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price