5/14/04 by scott

Members of the alternative rock group Seven Mary Three, now 'unencumbered' by the trappings of financial and commercial success, have announced that despite what you may have heard, they are still together. And just to prove that they can still rock like they always thought they could, they have announced their triumphant return to the music world with a huge comeback show on June 2.

At a place called Players Bar & Grill.

In Decatur.

Illinois.

Yup, you heard right. Just when you thought you might die of withdrawal because it's been a little over 5 years since their smash hit 'Cumbersome' was played on every radio station every couple of seconds around the clock, sweet relief has arrived. True rock & roll fans in central Illinois will finally be able to hear 'Cumbersome' live, over and over again for a couple of hours, probably interspersed with a couple of sets of 'Water's Edge', the other smash hit you may or may not remember. And in the unlikely event that you get bored, you can always shoot some pool or order a sammich.

The band has set up a tour to promote their return, playing in such well-known venues as Cronies in Kouts, IN, Durty Nellies in Palatine, IL, the War Eagle Supper Club in Auburn, AL, and the Ross County Fairgrounds in Chillicothe, OH. A full list of venues can be found at http://www.7m3.com/tour.html.

These venues may seem small to some naysayers, but the fact is, Seven Mary Three are returning to their roots. Lead singer Jason Something had this to say. "You know, back in '88, we were playin' towns like Saint Louis, Chicago, LA, and New York, but it was all just too much for us. We were like, you know, all these chicks, money, and all the drugs we could take... it was too good to be true. It's like we didn't deserve it. (pause) So we decided to get back to our roots and play some smaller venues and really flesh out 'Cumbersome' and maybe cut a new record with some new versions of it. Man, that sure is a great song."

Seven Mary Three performs June 2 at Players Bar & Grill in Decatur with local favorites Roswell. I've never heard them before, but I'm pretty sure they don't have any songs that are near as good as 'Cumbersome'. Tickets are available now at Players.