Saturday, June 11, 2005

Battle of the “bar” bands

Man, lawyers sure know how to party. Who knew? I thought they were supposed to be serious and boring.

I just got back from a wild night out with a bunch of lawyers. (I’m writing this from inside the haze of a few too many cocktails so I apologize if the story lurches incoherently across the screen.)

My friend Kathryn invited me to go to the Battle of the Bar Bands, an annual fundraiser put on by the Canadian Bar Association. The twist is that all of the bands are made up of lawyers (get it? bar bands?). And the judges are actual judges (from the B.C. Supreme Court, no less).

I was a little skeptical at first. I’ve always thought cover bands are to music what paint-by-numbers is to art. Cover bands are bad enough. But cover bands made up of lawyers? I didn’t have high expectations.

But you know what? They were all really, really good. Rock stars, every one of them. They obviously put as much effort into practicing music as they do practicing law. My new favourite band is The Retainers, the group from Kathryn’s law firm.

Plus no one played the kinds of songs I was expecting them to, like "I fought the law." It was an eclectic mix -- from Metallica to Paul Simon to U2. The dance floor was packed.

Anyway, the ringing in my ears has quieted now so I think I’ll go to bed. [It’s kind of an abrupt way to end this post but I’m tired.]