There were a lot of good full band shows in Funkytown this week, but I was in the mood for something a little less formal. For a while now, the Junk Bros have been hosting the “Mostly Open Mic” show at Buffalo Bros every Tuesday. I gotta say, it doesn’t get much less formal.
Traditionally, The Junk Bros are Nick Choate, Josh Weathers, and whatever other Blue Smoke Mafia (musicians associated with Nick’s Blue Smoke Studios) happen to be free to jam. You never really know who will show up. Last time I was there, Guthrie Kennard even showed up to play.
On this night, Josh had another gig and when I got there it was Nick, legendary Funkytown drummer Blaine Crews, and various audience members. Since there was another drummer, Nick forced Blaine into taking over the bass (teaching him the bass parts as they went).
We got a lot more of Nick’s original stuff than usual, and this seriously needs to happen more often. Nick is a talented songwriter, but he’s way to humble when it comes to his own stuff. The audience always loves it, however, and you gotta give the people what they want.
For covers, we got to hear a great version of Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn, a hauntingly good take on Three Times Coleen by Buchanan, Into the Mystic by Van Morrison, Rock With You by Michael Jackson, and Rack ‘Em Up by Johnny Lang. All were done exceedingly well by Choate, Crews and guests but I completely preferred Nick’s originals.
As with any time Nick is on stage, there was quite a bit of banter and musical horseplay. Nick pulls off the persona of someone who is just there to hang out, and since there happens to be a guitar around, he might as well play. No rock-star pretentions here.
This wasn’t just a Nick Choate show, however. We had a couple of drummers (both of whom refused to play wipeout for me), we got some cool, jazzier guitar work from one of the people in the audience, and there was even a comedian who managed to be funny a couple of times.
It’s a well-known fact: Between Thanksgiving and New Years the Berry Street Corner (Berry and University area) completely dies. The TCU students take off, and local clubs and restaurants settle in for a lean few weeks until they come back. Buffalo Bros was no exception, and these small indie shops really need your support during this time of year. So this is not the best time of year to go see something as audience reactive as a Junk Bros Mostly Open Mic Night -- the crowd and musicians were more limited than usual. So while you should certainly stop in for some wings or pizza, you should probably wait until school is back in to catch the Junk Bros.
http://www.buffalobrostexas.com/
