Review: The Womack Family Band

Many thanks to Bruce Hoffman, fearless leader of Songwriters in Harmony, extremely witty singer/songwriter, world's best grandad, out punted his coverage when he married Deb, and good soul for writing this review for us!

Dennis asked me to write a review of the HITH’s February 8 Womack Family Band  show at the Bottlebrush.  But that was several snowstorms ago, and anything I say now is well past anticlimactic.  My bad.  Admittedly, Dennis didn’t ask me right away, but in my current, winter slowdown mode, I didn’t exactly jump right on it either.  Perhaps it’s just as well.  I’m not sure I get the point of reviews anyway.  If you were there you don’t need me to tell you what you saw and heard, and if you weren’t, there is nothing I can say to compensate for what you missed.  The best I can do is share a subjective account of my own experience.

Fair enough.  That would be an evening full of joy and energy — the kind of joy and energy that comes from four young people who love what they do and try to share that love with anyone who wants to give them a couple hours of time.  If I were to go into detail, I might point out that though they are called the Womack Family Band, only two of them are actually related (siblings) and none of them are named Womack.  I could further mention that that anomaly probably defines them better than any genre you might try to fit them into (the repertoire includes bluesy songs, jazzy songs, Beatlesque pop tunes, James Taylor covers, a smattering of gospel, country, soul, etc.).  I could talk about their democratic approach to performance, frequently trading instruments as well as lead vocals throughout the show.  Or their professionalism — the preparation, perspiration and hours of practice that go into making their airtight arrangements seem fresh and spontaneous.  I could talk about Haley’s dimples or Cory’s Tasmanian Devil approach to the drum kit or about a sense of fun so infectious that many in the audience end up dancing and nearly everyone leaves with a smile on his or her face.

But what would be the point?  As they say, “If you have to ask, you’ll never know.”

Rumor has it that the band would like to come back.  You might want to keep your eyes open and mark your calendars accordingly.