Back in October, I saw the band
The Darkness perform their hit single "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" in the middle of a mosh pit. Little did I know, I would hear a 1940's New Orleans Style version of the same song performed by a runner up of
The Voice a few months later.
Scott Bradlee is a music producer that started making videos with diverse musicians covering pop songs in different genres of music (Big Band, Jazz, and Swing). The videos became viral ...which lead to albums ...which lead to a tour. A very talented backing band, exceptional singers, and one remarkable tap dancer make up the current touring version of
Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox.
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| Postmodern Jukebox |
The show almost didn't happen. On Friday, Interstate 80 was shut down due to the weather stranding them in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The TSA also had issues with one of the musician's natural 420 remedy for Epilepsy. Despite these obstacles,
The Postmodern Jukebox found a way to persevere. They ditched the tour bus for two Buddy Holly looking charter jets and flew into the Mile High City.
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Brass of the Jukebox
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Blake Lewis, a runner-up on the sixth season of
American Idol, was the Master of Ceremonies. Not only did he do a impressive job of moving the show along, his Louis Prima style version of
Sisqo's "Thong Song" was amazing. To refresh your memory, some of the lyrics are "She had dumps like a truck and thighs like what." He even figured out how to bring his beatbox skills to a jazz version of
Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive."
Joey Cook, a contestant from the fourteenth season of
American Idol, was very charming. She performed a 1920's era version of
Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah" complete with an accordion solo. You almost felt like you were being transported back to time despite her blue hair.
Sadly Haley Reinhart, the singer in a large majority of their videos, was not along for this part of the tour. Malya Sykes, a contestant from
The Voice season seven, competently took her place. Her haunting jazz version of
Radiohead's "Creep" really brought out the profound lyrics. Of course, my favorite was her New Orleans Style version of
The Darkness' "I Believe in a Thing Called Love." She delivered a female perspective to the song singing, "I want to kiss you every minute, every hour, every day."
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| Ariana Savalas and Sarah Reich |
The funniest part of the evening was not from song lyrics. It was when Ariana Savalas, the daughter of film and TV actor Telly Savalas, interacted with the a "silver fox" in the front row. She brought the "handsome man in the smart looking fleece vest" to the stage for an uncomfortable embrace before launching into a 1920's Gatsby Style version of
Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." She was accompanied by tap dancer Sarah Reich from
So You Think You Can Dance. Later Reich tapped to an impressive
Star Wars Medley in a sparkling gold outfit.
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| Casey Abrams is All About the Bass |
Casey Abrams, the bearded man-bun wearing contestant from the tenth season of
American Idol, was the crowd favorite. His New Orleans versions of
Sam Smith's "I'm Not the Only One" and
Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine" transformed the songs with energy and fun. He also played the stand up bass throughout the evening which came in handy when all the singers sang a Swing version of
Meghan Trainor's "All about That Bass." (By the way, can't we have just a little treble?)
During an after concert nightcap at a nearby tavern the original version of
The Darkness "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" started to play to my amusement. (What are the odds.) Bringing the evening to a full circle.
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Postmodern Jukebox's Denver Selfie
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