Caught the Asylum Street Spankers at The Mucky Duck tonight. Always a super show.
Much better than just about anything that we could have seen (but didn't) in Las Vegas. And a helluva lot cheaper too. $20/head got us front-row at the Mucky Duck. The Duck is not exactly the snazziest venue on the Strip, but it's much preferable.
We're eternally grateful that the Duck schedules early shows for us old folks. In this case, 7:30pm.
Unfortunately, Wammo was "sick" tonight and wasn't on stage. A big disappointment, but they still put on a wonderful mix of sultry ballads, ragtime, blues, satire, drug anthems and the obligatory spanking. I
f you EVER get a chance to see them in your town, go. Do not hesitate. No telling who will in the band, but the musicianship will still be top-notch. Check out the NYC revue noted below.
I put up some extra Asylum Street Spankers videos at the top of the blog, and some by Wammo. Enjoy. And here's a review on Amazon that says it pretty well.
The Asylum Street Spankers defy easy categorization. Sticking resolutely to acoustic instruments including clarinet, harmonica, banjo and at times even musical saw, the Spankers perform a bewildering array of songs in just about every popular style extant in America since the end of World War I.
Though the band's lineup changes with each recording, the two leaders have remained constant: Christina Marrs, whose vocal tone and range remind me of Barbara Cook with touches of Aretha Franklin and Betty Boop, and Wammo, who is truly one of a kind. The Spankers' MO is to take absolutely nothing seriously except their musicianship (which is polished to the point of glowing) and to celebrate all forms of pleasure, not excluding those that are generally considered to be either immoral, illegal or fattening. (For their sake, I hope John Ashcroft never gets hold of a copy of "Spanker Madness.")
Their new album, "Mercurial"--so named for Mercury Hall in their home town of Austin, where this CD was recorded--basically is a sampler of everything that makes the Spankers great. They perform everything from true old-time numbers such as "Shine On Harvest Moon" and "Digga Digga Doo" to a hilarious cover of the B-52's "Dance This Mess Around." Christina Marrs lights up the torches in such down-and-dirty blues numbers as "Got My Mojo Workin'" and "Sugar in My Bowl," but it's Wammo who is the album's standout in his wonderful original, "Hick Hop," best described as a rumble between the posses of Toby Keith and Snoop Dogg...
Asylum Street Spankers in ‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’
First Ever Musical Revue Confirmed For Exclusive Two Week NYC Run Starting January 9th
First Ever Musical Revue Confirmed For Exclusive Two Week NYC Run Starting January 9th
“My word, how can you put up with such demeaning conditions?” To which the carnival worker replied, “What—and give up show biz?”
The Asylum Street Spankers -- Austin favorites who have gained a massive and diverse fan base for their incomparable blend of old time string band virtuosity, vaudeville panache, and razor sharp wit -- juice their acclaimed live show with a double shot of theatricality in their first ever stage production, “What? And Give Up Show Biz?” in New York at the Barrow Street Theater in an exclusive two week run this January.
The show will draw on the acclaimed band’s fourteen year history, both on-stage and off, with a one-of-a-kind and supremely entertaining take on what it’s like to be a Spanker. ‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ seamlessly interweaves the Asylum Street Spankers’ signature four part harmonies and consistently inventive arrangements -- not to mention their penchant for adult humor, frank discussions of sexuality, drug use and/or rock and roll -- into a sit down, laugh-out-loud and sing-a-long theater experience.
‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ includes Spanker favorites such as “Winning the War on Drugs,” “Blue Prelude (from Hot Lunch)”, “Why Do it Right?,” and touches on classic quandaries such as what happens when the tour bus’ brakes fail when barreling down a mountainside, how a stuffed monkey can almost end a band, what really happens before the show, what sadly happens after the show and why the corporate party from hell always pays so well.
The title, ‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?,’ is a reference to a classic vaudeville punch line about a man who has the dirtiest, most undesirable job at the circus cleaning up after animals. A friend, observing the menial nature of the work, offer to help the man find another job. The man replies, "what, and give up show biz?"
The Asylum Street Spankers began their musical journey 1994 when Christina Marrs and Guy Forsyth met Wammo at an impromptu all-night-sing-along at the Dabbs Hotel in Llano, TX. Upon returning to Austin, the trio called upon their musically like-minded friends to get together for club dates and in the trenches busking on the Guadalupe Street drag. Following success on the road and in the studio, the band founded their own Spanks-A-Lot Records in 1999 and continues to tour extensively throughout the world. ‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ is their Off-Broadway debut. The Washington Post cheers about a recent live show: “Plugged or unplugged, there was power aplenty onstage.”
‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ performances:
Wednesday, January 9 (preview)
Thursday, January 10 (preview)
Saturday, January 12 (two shows)
Sunday, January 13
Monday, January 14
Wednesday, January 16
Thursday, January 17
Friday, January 18
Saturday, January 19
Sunday, January 20
For a updates on dates and showtimes visit: http://asylumstreetspankers.com
The Barrow Street Theatre, located in the heart of New York's west village, is a leading Off Broadway producer and presenter of new works for the stage. Recent productions include Gone Missing by the Civilians, No Child... by Nilaja Sun, TJ & Dave (late nights first weekend of every month), an oak tree by Tim Crouch and Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp.
The Asylum Street Spankers -- Austin favorites who have gained a massive and diverse fan base for their incomparable blend of old time string band virtuosity, vaudeville panache, and razor sharp wit -- juice their acclaimed live show with a double shot of theatricality in their first ever stage production, “What? And Give Up Show Biz?” in New York at the Barrow Street Theater in an exclusive two week run this January.
The show will draw on the acclaimed band’s fourteen year history, both on-stage and off, with a one-of-a-kind and supremely entertaining take on what it’s like to be a Spanker. ‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ seamlessly interweaves the Asylum Street Spankers’ signature four part harmonies and consistently inventive arrangements -- not to mention their penchant for adult humor, frank discussions of sexuality, drug use and/or rock and roll -- into a sit down, laugh-out-loud and sing-a-long theater experience.
‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ includes Spanker favorites such as “Winning the War on Drugs,” “Blue Prelude (from Hot Lunch)”, “Why Do it Right?,” and touches on classic quandaries such as what happens when the tour bus’ brakes fail when barreling down a mountainside, how a stuffed monkey can almost end a band, what really happens before the show, what sadly happens after the show and why the corporate party from hell always pays so well.
The title, ‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?,’ is a reference to a classic vaudeville punch line about a man who has the dirtiest, most undesirable job at the circus cleaning up after animals. A friend, observing the menial nature of the work, offer to help the man find another job. The man replies, "what, and give up show biz?"
The Asylum Street Spankers began their musical journey 1994 when Christina Marrs and Guy Forsyth met Wammo at an impromptu all-night-sing-along at the Dabbs Hotel in Llano, TX. Upon returning to Austin, the trio called upon their musically like-minded friends to get together for club dates and in the trenches busking on the Guadalupe Street drag. Following success on the road and in the studio, the band founded their own Spanks-A-Lot Records in 1999 and continues to tour extensively throughout the world. ‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ is their Off-Broadway debut. The Washington Post cheers about a recent live show: “Plugged or unplugged, there was power aplenty onstage.”
‘What? And Give Up Show Biz?’ performances:
Wednesday, January 9 (preview)
Thursday, January 10 (preview)
Saturday, January 12 (two shows)
Sunday, January 13
Monday, January 14
Wednesday, January 16
Thursday, January 17
Friday, January 18
Saturday, January 19
Sunday, January 20
For a updates on dates and showtimes visit: http://asylumstreetspankers.com
The Barrow Street Theatre, located in the heart of New York's west village, is a leading Off Broadway producer and presenter of new works for the stage. Recent productions include Gone Missing by the Civilians, No Child... by Nilaja Sun, TJ & Dave (late nights first weekend of every month), an oak tree by Tim Crouch and Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp.
For more information on the Asylum Street Spankers, please contact Nick
Baily (nbaily@shorefire.com) or Maggie Poulos (mpoulos@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media - 718.522.7171
Baily (nbaily@shorefire.com) or Maggie Poulos (mpoulos@shorefire.com) at Shore Fire Media - 718.522.7171
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