On Friday, May 14, this SkookOwl was able to experience the sound of the band “Second Best” at Trippin’ Billie in Pottsville.

It is Sunday, and with two nights to sleep on the encounter, I am still left trying to decide if their sound is second best to nails on a chalkboard or a three-car crash in noises that will fail to entertain, and more so, hurt your ears. 

With my very broad music interests and appreciation, especially when dealing with local music, I found it hard to write such a derogatory statement about a local band, however, over and over upon coming back to the review, it was the most appropriate given the performance.

After consulting with several other individuals whose music tastes, I believe, compliment my own well in breadth and experience, it seemed the sentiment was not solely my own.

What made the performance worse as an audience member was the fact that at least two of their selected covers I have recently heard performed by other local bands that were leaps and bounds better than Second Best’s versions.

The entire show felt like an assault on the auditory process, and my temptation to flee from the scene of the musical crime being committed turned to firm resolution almost an hour before last call at Trippin’ Billie.

I know I am not alone in choosing to exit upon the initial start of Second Best’s set as I saw several people, tightly drawn faces, leave the bar after only a few songs. 

In fact, in at least two locations where the band has played staff have confirmed that attendance has gone down after the band began performing rather than grew.

This SkookOwl makes it a point to stress the positives of anything local, but there is very little I can say to encourage readers to experience the sound of Second Best for themselves.