Saturday, August 2, 2008

Live Review: Ransom at 8.0 (August 1)

By Brenna Rushing

Occasionally it’s good to go out on a Friday and not only go to a nice bar but also enjoy some live music. 8.0 is a bar that stands out in Fort Worth for offering some energetic and entertaining music while also maintaining its "hotspot" status.

Even though it was an ungodly humid night on the patio at 8.0, I decided to overcome the heat and occupy myself with the band of the evening. Ransom is a group of seven people who are hired for parties or events. They are a cover band that brings class and style to the stage.

They are not to be confused with the rock band Ransom, as I did last night.

Ransom

Ransom sings a plethora of songs, starting off with India Arie and Mary J. Blige, while also singing country tracks and Justin Timberlake. There is one girl in the band; she sings a majority of the time. Her level of talent and rhythm make you wonder how some people can be so blessed. She also shares the lead with one of the men in the group, who doubles as the keyboardist.

When they both tackled “Bringing Sexy Back”, both singers began jumping and didn’t stop until the crowd followed. A group of extremely random and mixed people created a dance floor out of the patio, and at some point I somehow became a part of it. After I was able to break free, I noticed how many onlookers the band was creating. 8.0 had a line to get onto the patio, and I don’t think they were flooding in for the drink specials.

If you haven't been to 8.0 before, make it a point to do so soon. They have a giant patio where the bands perform, and a very refreshing bar with wonderful AC. There are stunning murals on every wall of the bar; some are nature scenes while others are just some crazy designs. The interior of the bar causes you to take a step back. It has the upscale bottle service feel, without the bottle service. There are tables lit with miniature lamps and flat screen TVs to allow you to enjoy some sports or whatever's on while having a drink. Coming from the outside you wouldn't expect this.

See? Crazy designs...

Ransom makes their mark as a cover band by adding a trombone and a trumpet. The bigger array of instruments they perform with allow the band to have a diverse collection of songs. By doing this, they attract a bigger variety of supporters and help their venue at the same time.

So although I had the full intention to see a rock band named Ransom, I got a fantastic journey through today’s hits and yesterday’s chart toppers. Ransom is not a regular band at 8.0, they perform all over DFW. For more information check out their website.

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• Pegasus News Week in View: Beat the Heat edition (Aug. 7, 2008)

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• Arts > Popular Music > Cover and Tribute Bands