Great Show
by DJVA on 5/21/10The Ark - Ann ArborRating: 4 out of 5Often on the dark side, especially the lyrics, Brad Roberts is surprisingly personable and humerous. A great show everyone enjoyed.

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Often on the dark side, especially the lyrics, Brad Roberts is surprisingly personable and humerous. A great show everyone enjoyed.
Hardworking, excellent guitarist. Vocalists good, with great lyrics. Lead singer very entertaining and fairly unforgettable - enjoyed listening to his comments - clever guy w/an impressive vocabulary! Songs were nice and short - kept things moving. Enjoyed the evening over all and would go again when in town.
Only three musicians (Brad, Ellen Reid, Stu Cameron). Only one instrument (Stu on acoustic guitar). Brad told us that he has reached the status where he doesn't have to play guitar anymore. It wouldn't have been to difficult to drag along a small keyboard for Ellen to play. The show was very short; about an hour and twenty minutes. Brad pushed their merchandise pretty hard. That might have been OK if his attitude were different, but he told us that if we didn't buy enough stuff, they wouldn't come back. Which is a pretty hollow threat because they'd never played Ann Arbor before (that I know of).
I love The Ark. Intimate setting for outstanding shows. There was lots of humor, great music, incredible guitar playing and the typical irreverence and use of $50 vocabulary words by Brad. I don't see how anyone could not have a good time at one of their shows.
Original dummies Brad and Ellen along with an acoustic guitar player really put on a good show for a three person effort. Brad and Ellen traded lead vocals on a few tunes, played a good mix of old and new, and were sure to include all the "money songs." I would love to see the day that they tour with a full band again... The Ark is a fantastic venue... any show is worth seeing there.
Very entertaining, great atmosphere. One of the best shows I have been to.
At first I was a bit wary when I realized it would just be an acoustic performance, but within one song I realized it didn't matter. The vocals were impeccable the guitarist sounded like a full band and the Brad Robert's banter between songs was hilarious.! The new songs were great and I purchased the CD at the meet and greet after and it's some of their strongest tunes! A great time! I hope it's the beginning of a "Dummies" resurgence!!!!!
An excellent show by Brad, Ellen and Brad's "Traveling companion", Stuart Cameron the other night at Showcase Live in Foxboro, as they played a well-balanced mix of new and old stuff. The instrumentally pared down songs still held a good deal of power, due in no small part to Stuart's guitar playing. I really liked the vocal switch on "Swimming in your Ocean", where Ellen sang the lead. An utterly and completely enjoyable evening! Wish I'd known they were playing the Iron Horse in Northampton the next day - I would have fired up my Fast Lanes transponder and booked it down the Mass Pike West. Don't pass up a chance to see them!
Brad Roberts voice hasn't changed an octave since seeing him perform live well over ten years ago, however, I don't recall his banter with the audience being as mundane as it was last night. Roberts should have left his "travelling companion" Stuart alone and kept to the song list - less chatting more singing. Ellen was as graceful as I remember, her voice like that of an angel. As this was the first leg of their accoustic tour I was a little surprised to learn the harmonica player was missing, apparently he chose to disband some time ago. I wondered why they hadn't replaced him, hmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmm?
The acoustic trio was so much better than expected!
A great night, at a great venue with one of my favorite bands. It doesn't get much better. Brad & Ellen both sounded great. Stuart was great on the acoustic guitar!! I have seen the Crash Test Dummies several times before and would definitely see them again, so please continue touring!!!!!!!
For you hard core Crash Test Dummies fans, the show was great packed with a few newer songs, after their big hit MMMMM. Me, I am a Canadian fan, so their true fame is in their first album to us Canadians with hits like Winter Song, Andrognenous, Superman and the rest. They did not play any songs from the Haunting Album, except Superman. But, it was a great show, Brad had a great sense of humour, and Ellen did a few songs alone that were beautiful. Of course accoustics by Stuart Cameron, were fabulous (son of the late and fabulous John Allan Cameron, father of Canadian Keltic Music). A show worth seeing, the venue was fantastic, it was up close and personal with Crash Test Dummies. If you love Ellen's voice, her Joan Biaz-y uniqueness, her album is mellow, and her irish lilt(or canadian) accent comes through nicely on that.