The Wiyos live at Barbes

My other big weekend activity was Saturday night's trip to Brooklyn to hear The Wiyos live at Barbes. I've written about The Wiyos a few times, most notably the last time I saw them live, at the same bar. The scene was essentially the same as the last time, and the back room of the bar was crowded and hot, but no one seemed to mind. Over two hours and two sets, the band played about a half-dozen songs from their last album, a few from their first album, and another five or six songs that I'd never heard before. They also made a few observations about their music, such as the fact that nearly all of their songs are either about getting together or breaking up, and that they obviously got into this kind of music for the money and the pop charts. I might have laughed loudest at the bassist's comment that they will play for weddings and divorce parties. My only complaint about the show was that it wasn't as much of a sing-along as the last one, so I was a little self-conscious when I sang along on the songs I knew (which was most of them). And they didn't play their version of George Gershwin's "Summertime," which is one of my favorites. They're playing at Joe's Pub in Manhattan on June 8, so I've got another chance to see them before they go on tour for the summer. Maybe it will be OK if I sing along at that show.