No, not us. We don’t want your music stands. But the KU Department of Music does.
We were incredibly amused (and honored, to be honest) when we got an email the other day from the KU Band office:
At the closing of the school year, we at the University of Kansas Bands take some time to do housekeeping and review equipment. We find ourselves short of music stands. This often happens when students take stands to perform at venues and houses of worship around town and forget to bring them back.
I am writing to ask that you take a look in your performance spaces and sanctuaries for stands labeled “KU Band” or “KU School of Music.” If your organization happens to have any of these stands, please contact me by replying to this email or by calling me at the number below. We will gladly stop by and pick up any music stands you might have.
The Bar Band isn’t officially affiliated with KU, although the group is primarily made up of KU band and music students (and former students who just can’t quite move on). You may or may not know that the Bar Band, a great tradition in the Lawrence nightlife scene for many years now, actually got its start at the Sandbar back in the mid-90’s.
So, even though the group isn’t officially part of KU, we still thought it was pretty cool that the folks in the band office were reaching out to us about their missing music stands. It’s pretty much an official acknowledgement of the group, we think. Or they’re just really, really desperate to find those missing stands.
We don’t, however, have any music stands in our house of worship.
The hometown Kansas Jayhawks played in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight today, and sadly lost a spot in next week's Final Four with a devastating loss to VCU.
Dave opened the bar early today; normally we don't open until 5 p.m. on Sundays, but this was a special occasion. Tip-off was at 1:20 p.m., and we were there at 12:30 to welcome friends and fans for the game.
The Sandbar isn't much of a sports bar; we don't serve food and our TV's aren't exactly of the ginormous variety, but we had a good crowd of staff, friends and regulars for the game.
Of course, we were counting on a Jayhawk win and a huge crowd of people descending on Mass Street, but that didn't happen. We were surprised, however, that after the game our business actually increased. Other businesses around town apparently reported a drop in business immediately following the game (see this article from the Kansan) but within an hour of the game's end, the Sandbar was full.
Our friend Caroline posted this on Twitter, and we think it represents the afternoon well:
It feels like a Saturday. @thesandbar is packed. Lots of KU fans nursing our sorrows.
Thanks to everyone who came by today, we appreciate your business!
The Bar Band visited the Sandbar last night to rally the fans for today's football game against Colorado.
The Bar Band is one of our very favorite traditions. This ever-changing group of musicians has endured for over a decade now! You can read about their history here and see a picture of the original group here.
I wasn't there last night to see them. But the cool thing about social media and the online world today is that I can still share pictures and even a video with you, thanks to friends of the Sandbar who were there.
Heather took this picture from her awesome spot in the bar- right in front of the band. She probably can't hear today, but as she said, "it's a small price to pay for the awesomeness!"
Another Sandbar fan, Becca, took this great picture:
And finally, Brent, an out-of-town visitor here for the game, uploaded this video:
Thanks to everyone who came in last night, and especially to Heather, Becca and Brent for sharing pictures and video with us! Enjoy the tailgate and the game today, and Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
Our shirt was spotted in North Carolina! Sandbar fan Brian added this fun picture to our Facebook page recently. His caption said "got the boys on the island of carova nc dressed right." We agree!
We especially like this picture because it has not only Sandbar shirts, but also KU shirts! We're big KU fans. And, the shirt on the far left is the chapter shirt for the Central North Carolina chapter of the KU Alumni Association- which I thought was cool because if you didn't know, my day job is in the communications department at the KU Alumni Association.
I find all sorts of interesting things on Twitter these days, which has become my go-to source for news and events happening both locally and nationally. After KU's commencement weekend, I looked at tweets that were tagged with the #kugrad hashtag, and I found a lovely poem.
A KU alumna named Erica, who now lives in Colorado, was back in town for her brother's graduation. She was inspired to write this poem about all the things she loves about KU. And, guess what? The Sandbar got a mention! And she said she also has a bunch of sharks in her apartment now.
