With so many musical choices in Savannah Friday night, I took the easy way out and went to a show a little closer to home, The Accomplices at The Broken Spoke Coffee House & Cyclery (whoa,that’s a mouthful) on Hilton Head Island. I was actually killing two birds with one stone, I’d wanted to check out the venue for a while, and had somehow never seen The Accomplices before. I’d be pretty happy checking out either one again.
The Hilton Head music scene is an odd thing, there’s always plenty of young people and people who still act young around, but sometimes the scene is vibrant and exciting, and sometimes it seems like there’s just not much going on. Veterans of the scene remember The Old Post Office hosted Southeastern touring acts nightly, with Hootie and the Blowfish and Edwin McCain packing the place regularly. The Blue Nite or Blue Note, depending on the era, hosted some pretty great stuff, with multiple Fishbone shows, Seven Mary Three and the like coming through regularly. Then there was a great period of Shoreline Ballroom shows featuring Snoop Dogg, Social Distortion, Hank Williams III, Silversun Pickups, Les Claypool, and The Misfits, among others. It was a huge room, and other than Snoop Dogg, which was PACKED, the shows always seemed underattended to me and it was no surprise that it just didn’t work. The scene currently seems to consist of The Big Bamboo Cafe, which does some cool stuff, and Wild Wings, with their stable of acts playing a regular rotation. The point is, if I hear of a new venue, I definitely want to check it out.
Their Facebook page describes The Broken Spoke as a “Local, community driven music lounge and bicycle shop featuring organic Costa Rican coffee, teas and your favorite beers and wines”. Okay, I like bicycles and coffee and love music and lounging, so when I saw that the Accomplices were playing there, I took the opportunity to see what it was all about. The space was larger than I expected, but still cozy, with the bar situated in the middle and couches and chairs facing the stage at the back of the room. Comfortable is the word that immediately comes to mind. The audience held quite a few musicians, and a couple of them ended up on stage by the end of the night.
The Accomplices sounded great, I love that “Lowcountry string band” sound. They had a washboard (electric, with effects pedals!) player with them all night, a guest guitarist sat in for several songs, and then a guest didgeridoo player helped them cover The Beatles “Dear Prudence”. Yes, I said a didgeridoo. That was a first for me. The band seemed to have a good time and the crowd was into the set, dancing, and cheering after each song. I actually saw THE WORST dancer I have ever seen, I sure hope that guy didn’t drive home. I was glad he only “danced” for one song because I could not look away, it was awe inspiring. I would definitely recommend seeing The Accomplices if you haven’t, or again, if you have, and if you see that an act you’re interested in is playing The Broken Spoke, it’s a comfortable, fun place, worth checking out.
Bonus: Possibly the coolest candle ever on the bar.