A great beat; I give it a three

I was at a conference last month. Not much of a brainer but the official party at the end of Day 1 was an Octoberfest jobber. The weather was nice, so it was held in the hotel’s courtyard, the sauerbraten and other snacks were fine and the sparkling wine was eminently drinkable.

But then they had a band.

I have so many questions. Like—do they wear those outfits to and from the gigs, or do they change at the venue? You wouldn’t want to get stopped by the State Police and end up spending the night in the hoosegow in those getups. Also, do they have other outfits for when they’re The Mariachi Brothers or play at bar mitzvahs?

Frankly, I find that stuff kind of cringeworthy, although not as much as Morris dancers. Those guys give me the willies.

But my real issue with them (and I was not alone in this) was their volume. Their playing was fine, but they had a sound setup that would have provided enough amplification to fill the Rose Bowl. They’d have been pleasantly audible if they’d turned off all the amps and just gone acoustic.

It was rather amusing, though. I left as they were breaking into that old Bavarian standard, “The Gambler”. America, gonif.