Average White Band Playing Mars Hotel

Thu., July 25, 1996

Don Adair Correspondent

Perhaps it’s time to reconsider the Average White Band.

The Scottish R&B/funk outfit, which performs in Spokane Saturday, landed on these shores just in time to be swallowed up by disco’s giant wave, meaning the band barely got a chance to be judged in its own right before people started choosing sides in the Great Disco Debate. In the mid-‘70s, the band logged two top 10 hits, “Pick Up The Pieces” and “Cut The Cake.”

Funny thing is, after AWB flamed out along with Donna Summer and the Village People, they went on to have a pretty good little minicareer backing legitimate soul singers, people like Ben. E. King and Chaka Khan.

Late in the ‘80s, three of the founding members reunited to create a record called “Aftershock.” Things went well enough that they put a band together and hit the road.

About the same time, AWB’s original works were rediscovered through the wonders of sampling. Bobby Brown, TLC, A Tribe Called Quest and Janet Jackson all sampled AWB riffs.

So now a new generation of soul fans are turning onto this gang of Scots, leading them to showcase performances in such prestigious rooms as The Greek in L.A. and The Fox in Detroit.

Spokane’s Mars Hotel isn’t so well known, but it ought to be a nice spot for reassessing the chops of this seminal funk outfit. (The concert was originally scheduled for the Masonic Temple.)

The concert begins at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $14 in advance and $16 at the door, available at the Mars, G&B Select-a-Seat outlets, or call 325-SEAT.

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