you only love me for my lunchbox

7-11-08 at the Showroom

photo by Steven Long

Sometimes you just have to go out and see some live music. Sure, it might mean not getting that new drawing finished or not spending the evening working on the sculpture you're excited about, but sometimes you just have to go to a concert.
Last Friday I shirked my creative responsibilities and went out to the Showroom (www.hub-bub.com) to catch a show by The Asylum Street Spankers. And what a show it was.
I love live music but I'm not such a big fan of crowds and I could do without loud drunkards attempting to sing and dance (and talk) while I'm trying to listen to live music. So when the Spankers came out to begin their show and kindly asked everyone to turn off their phones and to refrain from talking and being obnoxious I knew I had made the right choice.
Though I've listened to the Spankers for a little more than 5 years, I was still surprised and impressed with their vocal and instrumental prowess. The songs can be pretty raunchy at times but the band members keep their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks and you'll find yourself unable to hold back your laughter. However, when not being naughty, the Spankers tilt toward the beautiful with wild and lovely songs of varying tempos. In fact, their most recent album is a children's album - though probably not what you'd expect from a children's album - and while it is completely innocent on the surface, it is probably their best complete collection of songs to date.

As it turned out, this was not as much of a distraction as I thought from my creative duties. These guys (and gal) were having a ball doing something they love. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves and their creative output was not only entertaining and beautiful.....it was also thought provoking. Even the most goofy songs brought out topics of religion, politics, individual rights, and philosophical truths. Their songs seem to strive to offer something for everyone. You can choose to take their lyrics at face value and laugh and get on with your life or you can begin to peel back the layers and think about what they've carefully placed just beneath the veneer of beauty.
And thanks to Stephen, Alix, & Betsy and everyone else involved with Hub-Bub.com for bringing such a great band to our town. Let's face it, we don't live in the cultural center of the universe, so to get an act like this in our back yard is a big deal.