4 Hombres- All your favourite bands in one

         As we are well aware, popular music is  in a sorry state. Auto-tuning has replaced singing as the focus of popular music. Marketing has replaced musicianship as the foundation of commercial success. Bands who deserve, if only for their longevity and musicianship, the adulation of a larger audience play small clubs for $20 or less while teenagers with one record out, written by someone else, charge over $100 for a ticket to see them in some stadium.
         A dwindling number of people remain moved and excited by performances of music by musicians. Such people would be pleased to cross the path of the 4 hombres. Presumably named for ZZ Top's album Tres Hombres. Their revue of classic rock hits will surely touch on a few of your favourite bands. They mostly avoid the overplayed songs and choose more obscure but still famous songs by ZZ Top, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cream and other titans of the 60's and 70's. You can usually catch them at Opera Bob's on College east of Ossington whenever they make one of their quarterly or so appearances. Keep your eyes peeled. All those bands you never thought you would see? You won't see them but you will hear them. And, they usually don't charge a cover. Such a  distaste for marketing almost guarantees their continued obscurity.
         I was lucky enough to see the lads belt it out over two long sets last night. The bar was empty. The sound was good. The harmonies were sweet and flawless. To have a band of this quality play your private party would cost at least $1,000.00. To be able to see them live for free proves that we are truly fortunate to live in Toronto. And that private parties are decadent (good) and not the most efficient way to see bands. I wish it was more profitable for the band and they were getting the adulation of a deserved grateful audience but they do it for the love of music. That is what live performance and music in general should be about.
        People accustomed to herd music bereft of imagination may never know what they are missing. Just as people long-fed Kraft Dinner and McDonald's can develop a yen for the noxious nourishment even when better food is available, so too can the ear of the under-exposed remain addicted to the generic strains of the swill that fills the airwaves and rules youtube. Why do some Led Zeppelin songs have half a million hits when J----- B----- songs have half a BILLION?! Surely, it is something to do with the fact that most Zeppelin fans already have copies of their legendary works on CD and LP, they are older and less youtube-addicted. The young'uns may someday learn the error of their ways. The bright spot is that you will be able to get in to a 4 Hombres show for free. Or at least less than ten dollars. And no teeny boppers will scream in your ear. Viva!