The following article appeared September 21, 2007 in the Boston Herald.
Chicken Slacks at the Cantab
by Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald
Maybe it was inspired by Little Joe Cook’s marathon man mentality, but the Cantab has always been a bastion for musical streaks. Geoff Bartley has been running a Monday open mike night for more than a decade. The Tuesday bluesgrass sessions are another long-standing tradition. But the natural successor to Cook’s legacy is Chicken Slacks.
Last week, the band - named after a misheard Sam Cooke lyric (“He’s dancing with the chick in slacks”) - celebrated two years of Thursday gigs. For their 104th show, the r & b revivalists celebrated with 200 fans crowding between belly dancers, jugglers, balloon artists and one dude in a chicken suit. Oh, and foot-stomping Stax soul music.
“When we first started at the Cantab they were having different bands,” said drummer Justin Berthiaume. “It took a little salesmanship to turn it into a month of Thursdays. After that month we thought, ‘Hey, we just could keep this thing going.’ Now it’s been two years.”
With a seven-piece band, the streak is even more impressive. Members have come and gone, the lead singer’s been replaced, but they’ve never missed a Thursday.
“The key is that the band and the Cantab are unpretentious,” Berthiaume said. “Old, young, black, white, they’re all here.”
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