School Boy Humor: Concert Review

On Sunday February 26, fans gathered at The Hangout in Ilion to listen to several bands perform. The Hangout is conveniently located on the back side of the Red Roof Inn; if you blink while driving past it, you would miss it entirely. The tiny venue held over thirty people, who killed time by shooting games of pool and playing air hockey in the sitting room.

Anthony Evans, the guitarist for the show’s headlining band, School Boy Humor, greeted people as they entered the main room. He greeted people coming in. In his very tight black t-shirt with a picture of Taylor Lautner on it, his shiny lip ring, and his very interesting mohawk, he was quite the sight.

His twin brother and bandmate, Phil Evans, stood quietly next to him. Tired from the long trip from their last show, he greeted people with a smile and a wave, and continued to watch the bands before him perform. Meanwhile, their drummer Caleb Schultz, decided to venture off on his own and wander around the venue, watching people shoot games of pool and chomping on peanuts.

The days started off with performances by some local bands. Give Us Jersey and The Avondales, both from Syracuse, performed and caught the audiences’ attention with their upbeat songs. After a set change and ten minute intermission, a band called Rookie of the Year took to the performance space. The band consisted of only one person, Ryan Dunson, and his acoustic guitar. He waved at the audience and started his sound check.

“Grab a seat, everyone. You’ve been on your feet all day. We can have a camp-fire type sing along.” He told the audience, who then sat on the ground before him.

Dunson first played on of his singles, “Slow Down”. He taught the crowd the lyrics of the chorus and asked them to sing along with him. When he got to the first chorus, he moved his mouth away from the microphone, so all that was heard was the sound of the audience singing.

He dedicated his last song to his grandfather, who had recently lost his battle with cancer.  There was not a dry eye in the whole house when he finished performing and the audience, including several members of other bands, gave him a standing ovation.

            Now, it was time for the last band to play. School Boy Humor, a band from Little Rock Arkansas, took to the stage. After a little mishap with a fog machine, which caused the whole venue to fill up with smoke, they began their set.

            They started with their single titled “7 Minutes In Heaven”, which got the entire audience jumping and singing along. They played songs off of their new album entitled “Show Me” and two songs off of their first self-titled album.

            Phil Evans, the lead singer, was full of energy. As he belted out the notes, he jumped around and interacted with the audience; ruffling several peoples’ hair and holding hands. The Evans brothers seemed to be enjoying themselves. If you looked past the twins at the drum set, you could see Caleb Schultz flipping his drumsticks while he played and having a good time.

            They closed their set with the fan favorite song “Camera Shy” and the audience sang along and cheered when the band had finished playing.

For a little over an hour, the members of School Boy Humor signed autographs, took pictures, and spent time with every fan. They did everything they could to put a smile on their fans faces. Needless to say, all bands gave their all during this show. If you ever have the opportunity to see any of these performers, take the chance and go to their show. You won’t regret it.
(Watch an acoustic version of "Camera Shy" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcyqvM01gt0)