Skribe at the Hamilton - Live Review

Hey brothers and sisters, BRP has been BUSY.  But now I’m back!  Let’s get right down to it.

So my last post was about the Low Cut Connie concert in DC.  And it was a great show.  I said I would be back with more information about that show – the opening act Skribe and the venue itself, the Hamilton. 

Let’s talk about Skribe.  I had never heard of these guys before the show, and wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  Some of my concert buddies never want to get to a show early because the opening act usually sucks.  But I always want to see the opening act because you never know what you’re going to get.  I saw the Bravery as an opener for Ash, the Lovers Key as an opener for the English Beat, and the Vaccines as an opener for the Arctic Monkeys.  All openers were keepers.  Well, guess what?  Skribe is a keeper, too.

Skribe plays self-described “garage folk.”  It’s a cool term and does kind of cover what they do musically.  I’m not a huge folkie, but what I think they are saying is that it doesn’t wail but it still rocks.  It’s blues-oriented, has some foot-stompin’ southern vibe to it, but remains on the slower side of life and is lyrics-oriented.  Whatever label you want to affix to it, it’s good.  And the lyrics, as best as I could hear them at the show, are witty and wry. 

The stage presence is also terrific … but not perfect.  So Aaron Yealdhall is the frontman, and he is funny and keeps things rolling along.  My only suggestion is to keep the show moving.  They spent a lot of time between songs doing the tuning of instruments and chatting thing.  It’s ok to do that periodically, of course, but not after every song.  It breaks up the momentum of the show.  Other than that, however, the guys are fun.  In fact, one of them built a homemade instrument – I think they called it a “canjoe” – that was made from an oil can.  It sounds a bit like a banjo, but it’s something different.  It’s cool, down home and fits the image of the band to a T.  Check out the pics to see it.

My conclusion is that while I don’t normally write about opening acts, Skribe was worth mentioning to my massive blog audience.  Check them out – here’s a link to their site and it includes a lot of good stuff – songs, videos, band information, and the like. 

skribestudios.com/

One last thing before I go back to the salt mines.  The Hamilton is a really nice venue!  It’s in the basement of the Hamilton restaurant right in downtown DC (about 3 blocks from the White House).  It has a nice stage, great acoustics, and a spacious layout. There are tables and a dance area in front of the stage.  And the food is really good.  I’m not sure how it would work for a sold-out show, but it was simply terrific for the LCC and Skribe show.  If you get the chance, go see a show there.  I think you’ll like it.

Hey, it’s time for me to split.  I’ve been completely slammed at work lately, and haven’t had much time to write.  But I have some good stuff in store so check back soon.  I promise I’ll get you feeling good yet again!  And there is lots more on the live music front coming up, with BRP catching shows in Philly and going on the road yet again to see some great musicians.  Yowza!