Tag: Skully’s Music Diner

Lackluster at Skully’s

This review is like a month late. Sorry Jon. Lost my notebook and had a lot of other things going on. shit happens.

anyway, Lackluster performed at Skully’s. Before them was Black Eyed Betty, and before them was Monolithic Cloud Parade. After Lackluster was another band but i had to leave before they came on.

We’ll start from the openers.

Monolithic Cloud Parade are interesting. Visually, they’re a few white guys of the Trendy-Beard-and-Vintage-Clothing-type and one black dude who plays trumpet and keyboard. I liked the trumpet, although at times it seemed like they just threw a trumpet in a song in a “what the hell, why not?” kinda way. In short, i wouldn’t mind seeing them again.

Black Eyed Betty. Oh man, here goes. I overheard several women in the audience say that they LOVED the singers shoes. That’s about it. For a more or less bubblegum punk band, they were decent. But this was not a show that they should have been booked at. Completely wrong for the type of crowd, completely wrong for the other bands on the bill, and completely wrong on playing a ridiculously long set of songs that all blended together into a 45 minute mayonnaise-y on white bread punk set.

i would think about seeing them again if it was at a punk show and if their set was shorter by at least 15 minutes. The singer was cute though. very bouncy and smiley. and fishnetty. actually, forget the band, i just want to see her.

Lackluster was really good. One of their best performances to date. Whereas the dance floor was completely empty for the first two bands, people from the front of the bar and from outside filed into the main room after the first couple songs. that’s a pretty good sign that you have a good sound. In fact, out of all the bands from my hometown of Reynoldsburg, Lackluster has the best chance of actually accomplishing something. The song that stands out the most is the brilliant cover of Eddie Murphy’s Party All the Time. when i first heard that they were going to cover this, i thought it was a terrible, horrible, incredibly stupid thing to do. However, i was wrong. It was great! There were trendy scenester kids dancing everywhere! seriously. i haven’t seen a crowd reaction like that for a local band in a long time.

i’ve said my piece. i’m out.

Venue Review: Skully’s Music Diner

For those that care, Skully’s is consistently voted, year after year, Columbus’ Best Singles Scene. I have personally witnessed many a drunken hook-up at Skully’s so I can attest to this.

Good points: There is always at least one band worth listening to on any given night. They usually have at least one free concert per week too. They have 18+ shows all the time. Ladies 80’s is a HUGE draw. Coat check in winter. Decent food. Service Industry Night on Tuesdays (Service industry employees pay 1/2 price for drinks). Smoking patios in the front and back.

Bad Points: Only 1 pool table (however, it is located on the balcony, which is awesome), the bartenders can be dicks (or bitches as the case may be). The scenester kids can be either incredibly hilarious or ridiculously annoying. It is impossible to not be accosted by bums if you’re standing out front. I recommend using the back patio to smoke, as it is much larger and enclosed by a fence.