Poor Otis, Wild Wing Cafe, 2/27/09

By Judith Woods

By the time Poor Otis took to the stage on Friday, February 27th around 10p.m. at the Wild Wings Café in Marietta, my ears were still ringing from the noisy, out-of-key singing that I had been listening to for the past hour from the opening performers. It was my hope that the next group of entertainers to take the stage would showcase much greater talent than the last. Before this evening, I had never even heard of the cover band called “Poor Otis,” let alone listened to any of their music. So, I was quite surprised to see that they had such a following. As I noshed on my nachos and hot wings, I realized that I was seeing a trend in the clothing that many people had chosen for the night. Looking around the loud, open restaurant, I noticed several people wearing the band’s personalized t-shirts. They were easy to spot - donning the all black fabric with the name “Poor Otis” inked across the front in bold white letters. I actually found myself excited to hear this band that appeared to carry such a faithful following.


Finishing up my dinner for the evening, I started to prepare myself for the entertainment to come. I cleared the table, got out my trusty notepad and waited anxiously for the singing to begin. As the first guitar strum echoed across the room, several people jumped to their feet to show their enthusiasm. “Wow, this is going to be a great concert,” I thought, “look at all these people who are so excited.” The band started off with an obvious crowd favorite, Blister in the Sun, which they followed up with Here I go again and Hurts So Good. It was right after the third song that I understood why this band has so many faithful followers. I’ve listened to many cover bands in my day and I believe it truly takes a talented group of artists to put their own personal spin on a well-known song, while still maintaining the classic sounds that made the tune so popular in the first place – Poor Otis did that with ease! While listening to the melodic beat of Straight To Hell, a favorite of mine originally recorded by Drivin’ & Cryin’; I could not only hear, but feel the band’s personal style and creativity coming through as they sped up a beat here or, changed a note there.

Not only is this a talented group of artists, they also offer their audience an impressive display of showmanship. The three band members, Roy Austin, Chris Kolasz and Konrad Stauffer all do an excellent job of making the crowd feel like they are a part of the show, allowing people to sing certain lyrics, pulling people on stage to shout out their requests and learning the names of as many fans as possible so they can call them out during the show. One of the high points of the night came after a group of young women sitting in the front row, announced that it was their friend’s 21st birthday! With that prompting, the band’s lead singer and guitarist, Roy Austin, pulled the young lady on stage and began to serenade her with the popular Van Morrison hit, Brown Eyed Girl.

After a short break, the band finished up the night with several audience requests; including, Friends in Low Places, Can’t You See, 500 Miles and Wonderful Tonight. All in all, Poor Otis gave a very entertaining performance – one that I will not soon forget. Who knows, if you show to the next concert you might even see me sporting one of those infamous t-shirts.

Click here for video of Poor Otis