And your ears shall hear…

The wife was out-of-town on business and I had a hankering for some live music.  Well, let’s be honest, who really gets a hankering anymore?  But anyway…  I have heard good things about Elf Power for a long time now, and the price was right.  I headed down to my second home, Schuba’s, for $2 Busch Lite cans, and some original rock music.  The show wasn’t sold out, but the Backstage was full of couples holding hands and making out, I felt like I was at the wrong show for a second.  But once the music got started, the sound was more Dinosaur Jr., than Coldplay.  The crowd started moving their heads, pumping their fists, and…drinking their Busch Lite?  Wow, what a relief!  Elf Power has a slew of LP’s out, and have been performing their brand of gritty space rock, for over twenty years.  As I watched them play, I felt like the guys could read each other minds.  Their sound was completely dialed in, each instrument had its right place.  They didn’t wear colored leather and run around throwing the peace sign in the air like Chris Martin, but instead,  let the music speak for itself.  There was some head banging and a little swaying, but you got the feeling that the days of smashing instruments and jumping into drum sets is all over for the elves.  Either way, they smiled while playing the songs that they wrote.  You could see the love they had for their music and the people listening.  If I took one thing I took away from this show, it’s that gratification.  Elf Power has never achieved any sort of stardom or fame.  But, their gratification lies in the faces of  smiling fans, that show up each night to see them play their tailored brand of rock and roll.  What more could you want really?  These guys have fulfilled desires, and achieved goals, escaping many road blocks along the way.  They have been playing for over twenty years because they LOVE music.  Bumping shoulders with the best of them at times, opening for R.E.M, and Wilco.  Now these little ‘Elves play to mostly small crowds, who know all of their material, and that’s gratifying enough.  That little bit of love gets them through the night, and gives them the desire to soldier on.  For every one band that makes it; there are thousands that don’t.  But those bands that didn’t achieve stardom, still followed their dreams, that’s the great part.  Seeing people do what they love is a powerful thing, because most of us don’t have the nerve to.  We are simply afraid to fail…

“All The World Is Waiting”

“Vainly Clutching At Phantom Limbs”

These two songs were highlights of the show.