SASSY BRASS BAND AT SHANNON'S FEBRUARY 6, 2016 / BY STONEY January 14, 2016 The last time I hung out at Shannon's Bar & Grill, off of Washington Road behind Applebees, it was to hang with friends during Karaoke. Before that it was a business lunch. To the best of my knowledge, I don't think I have ever been to Shannon's when a live band was playing. At the invite of long-time friend John Brejda, owner of That Place Coffee, my wife and I found ourselves shuffling through the side door into a packed house which included John and many of the new friends I have made at his coffee joint. And when I say packed, I mean packed! Now as a guy who normally likes his bar visits a bit less "geriatric" I have perhaps avoided Shannon's for the same reasons I have told peeps that I avoid Chevy's - I'm just not quite ready to turn in my rockin' converse for shaggin' shoes. (by shaggin' I mean of the group dance type...not the English version) but I figure that since the Sassy Brass ladies have always been fabulous, fun, and fantastically sweet, and that John and his friends are all way younger than the wife and I, then there's no reason why I shouldn't give this hidden place a night time shot, after all...the place is perhaps the venue in the area that has been in operation the longest. Besides, I have been working hard to get a ton of weight off...maybe it was time to try and disrupt any shaggers with my own brand of dance floor boogie! (trust me, I wondered all day if I even still had my own brand of boogie) So like I said, we were shuffled through the side door to a few tables about as far away from the stage as one can get and put the tables together, much to one of the waitress' dismay, who immediately snapped "oh no you are gonna have to do something else I'm not gonna be able to work with this!" Someone said "chill, it's your job" and we went back to whatever we were doing that didn't involve Miss Grouchy (I have to mention, that all of the other waitresses were energetic, fun, personable, and on the ball while the one was pretty much snarky all night...so needless to say, our spirits were not dampened by Madam Sourpuss.) I was worried that the wife wouldn't be able to dance. She went through quite a car accident ordeal that has left her leg in a state that will never be fully normal again. A few songs in and she dragged me to the dance floor where we were greeted by nods and smiles by the great musicians in Sassy Brass, which for this gig included the fearless leader of the Miracle Whips, Shameless Dave on lead guitar. Now for those not fans of cover bands, Sassy Brass probably won't be your thing, but I have to say that the band sounds better than ever and the mix of soul, blues, funk, and classic rock was fun and refreshing. Even the occasional modern country song didn't kill the evening and I'd have to say that while on the dance floor, I have never seen a more eclectic group of patrons. Yes we saw (or shall I say got out of the way of) some senior citizens getting down but also dancers in their early twenties on up to our age, and beyond. Of course there was THE one out of rhythm, drop to the knees, spin badly white guy dancing with the drunk teetering gal flinging her hair around, but for the most part...the wife and I were put to dancing shame despite somehow throwing out more moves than the mini shuffle we exhibited at our wedding fifteen years ago! To put it mildly, we had a dancin' blast! While on the dance floor my better half commented about the amazing vocals of each and every one of the vocalists and I couldn't agree more. Each of the ladies can blow the doors off of most CSRA singers and the guys jumping in for some of the vocals made for a perfect mix of moods and energy. Yeah I probably could have done without hearing "Sweet Home Alabama" of "Mustang Sally" for the millionth time but I have to honestly say that it has been a long time since I have had so much fun and believe it or not, felt years younger! The tootsies may have been pounding afterwards but it was well worth it! The all around smiles from our party seemed to validate my opinion! So if you are ever looking for just a fun evening of dancing and singing, track down the Sassy Brass Band. You will get your boogie's worth!