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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Lawrence Bar Band plays penultimate tour this year
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
Editor's Note: In 1995, a small group of members of the KU Pep Band formed a band that played a mix of popular songs and Kansas tunes in bars around town. As the band has evolved, it has gained cult status around Lawrence. Last Friday night, the band allowed the Kansan to tag along on one of their bar tours.
THE SANDBAR
The line to get into The Sandbar stretched out the door and around Eighth Street. It was 9:30 p.m. and the Lawrence Bar Band wouldn't arrive for another 30 minutes. Even with close to 11 inches of snow piled up and slick roads, there are still those who will come wait to see the 20-minute show.
Earlier in the week, the band announced on Twitter that this would be its second-to-last tour of the year, creating a sense of urgency among fans to spend a night out on Massachusetts Street. Damn the frigid weather for trying to discourage anyone from it.
Despite the sparse population in the bar, the bouncer at the door was on one-in-one-out detail, making sure there was enough room for the 19-piece ensemble to squeeze through the entrance and set up shop.
"They should be on the sidewalk," the bouncer muttered under his breath. "But you'd still be able to hear them."
In 15 minutes, two tubas, two baritones, three trombones, seven trumpets, two mellophones and three percussionists would gather in the parking lot around the corner on New Hampshire Street. While the band members made their way to the night's starting point, its most senior members were inside The Sandbar making their own preparations.
Logan Heer and Tyler Metzger stood near the bar, turning down drink offers from fans and tossing back shots of Fireball Whiskey.
It's not that they didn't want the extra alcohol. They just have trouble making others pay for drinks when they get them for free.
That's the compensation for playing in the Bar Band. There's no money changing hands, just free admission and all the booze your liver can take. It's all they've ever asked for.
Heer and Metzger have been playing trumpet for the band for six years now.
"I've seen some shit," Metzger said as he downed another shot and grabbed a beer.
Metzger started scanning the crowd. It had thinned out a little bit, and with three other stops to make on the night, he began thinking of a game plan.
"it's going to be a short set," he said to Heer. Heer nodded in agreement, looked at his watch and ducked out to the parking lot to rally the band as Luke Gesel walked in the door.
Gysel doesn't play any instrument, but he does drink. And as a friend of the band, he walked up to the bar, grabbed a beer and started talking to Metzer.
A few minutes pass, and Heer walked back in with a trumpet.
"We're ready to go," he said to Metzger.
"Well then, pull them in," Metzger shouted back.
On cue, Heer stuck his head out the door and gave a long, drowned out scream: "Baaaaaaaaaaaar Baaaaaaaaaaand!!!"
The house music cut as the bar erupted into cheers before anyone even entered.
One by one, the band members filed into the bar, making noise as they entered.
"Everywhere we go, people love us." Gsel said as Heer grabbed a
mic and announced that, indeed,
they were the Lawrence Bar Band
before shouting, "All Of The Lights".
Instantly, the band pulled itself together and started grooving to Kanye West. Never mind that most of the members were playing on beat-up brass and worn-down drums; it was as pristine a sound as they could hope for.
The Kanye rendition ended as the band smoothly transitioned into something more suitable for Kansas students, and the medley that the pep band plays before every basketball game was being belted out as if the band were in Allen Fieldhouse.
All the familiar songs came out to play: "The Alma Mater," "The Rock Chalk Chant," "I'm A Jayhawk" and a mix of Bon Jovi. The show ended with two of the latest additions to the set list: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis "Thrift Shop" and finally a live Harlem Shake to cap it off.
The band members admit they could play the mashup in their sleep.
Heer was the last one to leave The Sandbar, and he began walking back to the New Hampshire Street parking lot.
And with the same alacrity they entered with, the band members dash out the door.
Every time the band tours, there are a few designated drivers who take them from The Sandbar to the Kansas Student Union, where they regroup and walk down 14th street to Bullwinkle's.
PACHAMAMA'S
The band was already playing "I'm A Jayhawk" by the time Heer enterd the door, and he wasted no time joining in.
Yet the rest of the band was not heading back to the cars just yet. They ran into Pachamama's across from The Sandbar for an impromptu stop.
After playing the Alma Mater to a bar full of fans swaying back and forth, locked arm in arm, the band
made the same quick escape it did from The Sandbar.
MIKE VERNON/KANSAN
Though the bartender hailed him for a free round, Gysel didn't notice or seem to care. The band was already halfway down New Hampshire Street, still blowing their horns and drumming like mad men as they plunged into six cars to take off for the Union.
BULLWINKLE'S
As tiny as Bullwinkle's, is there was enough room for the entire ensemble to fit comfortably, which can't be said for the rest of the bar's inhabitants, who were backed up to the walls and standing on tables.
As each member entered, they were given their payments. At this location it comes in the form of Moose bowls and Lab Rats — two drink specials that have become staples of the bar.
As the tempo slowed and the horns went into "The Alma Mater," someone in the crowd poured ice cubes onto the bass drum while it rested sideways on top of a garbage can. "The Alma Mater" reached its climax, and as the drums came into play, ice started flying around, bouncing into the crowd.
Heer took over the trumpet solo during "Shout" in case the party at Bullwinkle's didn't feel enough like "Animal House." Yet he didn't make it known that he was the one playing. Instead, Gysel picked up a trumpet, stood in front of the band and pretended to be the one showing off.
Heer took his place in the middle of the pack and cut the dogs off their chains.
"1, 2... 1, 2, 'All Of The Lights," Heer chanted, and the sequence started over.
It's another short set, and Heer looked to his band, shouting for them to leave.
As far as the crowd goes, it wasn't
The Bar band kicks off the night at The Sandbar where the horn section plays while standing on top of the bar.
the worst night at the Bull, but there had been better. It is not a rare occurrence to see girls start to take their shirts off when the band gets going.
The members were walking up 14th Street playing random notes while cars were stopping to roll down their windows and cheer for them.
THE JAYHAWK CAFE
The line for the Hawk stretched out to the corner of 14th and Ohio streets. It would be the biggest crowd the band played for that night, and they knew it.
Metzger was already inside passing out cans of Bud Light as the band entered to find an impatient crowd. Girls jumped on shoulders, and fans shouted song requests, but the band hardly noticed.
Again, the crowd abused the bass drum, this time with a waterfall of beer. Right when the entire bar started to sing along to "Na-Na-Na," the drummers went wild, splashing Bud Light into a tightly packed crowd.
It all started again. First Kanye West, then the medley, "Thrift Shop," Jovi and back to "The Alma Mater." Finally, the band began one of its signature performances, a short rendition of "Hey Jude" that turns the coda into a barroom chant. The band started the song with only the horns playing. It's a sweet, soft melody that quickly builds up when the drums began to rumble.
No one seemed to mind, let alone the drummer, who would eventually foot the bill for a new drum head.
THE WHEEL
After leaving the Hawk, Heer lead the band up the stairs to The Wheel's back entrance, where there is always just enough room for the band to fit.
As Heer predicted, the band sounded like crap at this point. Still, the crowd couldn't be more excited to see them.
And as this tour wound down, there was a picturesque scene playing out.
Heer and Metzger stood back-to-back on top of a booth rocking out to "Hey Jude" on their trumpets. In front of them, Gysel was chugging a beer. Off to the side, Chris Carter was banging on his snare drum while someone from the crowd poured a Coors into his mouth.
In a few minutes, the band members would be outside The Wheel, tossing snowballs at each other and munching on slices of pizza. Soon after, they would all go their separate ways. The instruments would be tucked away, and the band would take a seven-day hiatus.
But in that moment, with "Hey Jude" rocking, the crowd singing and the band playing as hard as it could, none of that mattered. No one was worrying about future plans. It was just a group of 19 band members — and Gysel — standing on top of the town.
"We skip lines, we get drunk, we play music," Metzger said. "This is as close to being a rock star as it gets in Lawrence."
Edited by Brian Sisk
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MIKE VERNON/KANSAN
Members of the band take a break from playing to shout with the crowd at The Wheel.
MIKE VERNON/KANSAN
The band prepares to play its final show of the night at The Wheel.
MIKE VERNON/KANSAN
The Bar Band gets ready to kick off another set in front of their biggest crowd of the night at The Hawk.