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REVIEW
​SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

Cliffs Pavilion, Southend on Sea
Wednesday 14th March 2018
If anyone is in any doubt as to the power of the internet, look no further than the rise to fame that Postmodern Jukebox has achieved within the last five years.  Thanks to an astonishing YouTube fanbase, the bedroom project of jazz pianist, Scott Bradlee, has proved to be a viral sensation.  The US group of varying different singers and musicians performing vintage-pop style mash ups have racked up over 811 million YouTube views bringing Postmodern Jukebox into the limelight and subsequently has led them to perform sell out tours all over the world.

With a rotating roster of top-class session musicians producing a new vintage version of a current day song each week, Bradlee’s novel conception has gained him over 3 million Youtube subscribers.  The 50s doo-wop version of Miley Cyrus’s We Can’t Stop alone has garnered almost 20 million views.

Southend's Cliffs Pavilion was the last port of call for the band and before they appeared on stage, we were entertained by a ‘support’ .  This came in the form of a DJ spinning half an hour’s worth of vinyl, which included some very funky sounding tracks from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Shirley Bassey and the Commodores to name but a few.  The lights were brought down for this and the stage lit, but with no introduction or interaction from said DJ, the audience were left feeling fairly bemused and resorted to either going back to the bar, having a chat or scrolling through their social media.  Finishing as he had started, the nameless DJ packed away his bag of 12 inches, dismantled his mixing desk and left the stage with barely a glance to the audience.  More bemusement.

After the interval and much to the audience’s delight, the Postmodern Jukebox band entered the stage.  Sadly, there was no Scott Bradlee but any disappointment was quickly assuaged in the form of MC of the evening, Cunio.  Cunio, looking like a cross between a young Richard O'Brien mixed with the personality of Jim Carey in The Mask, all bald head, black varnished nails and dapper suit, began with the Michael Jackson classic, Thriller.   This showed off his fabulous vocals and throughout the evening he introduced us each performer and band member, whilst simultaneously outrageously flirting with the audience.

The band provided a whole plethora of their most popular YouTube hits including Ex’s & Oh’s and No Surprises sung by PMJ favourites, Cristina Gatti and Chloe Feoranzo.  Feoranzo is the clarinet player of the band and spends a lot of the time upstaging with trombone player, Lemar Guillary and they clearly have a cheeky bond not just with each other but also the audience.

Wowing the audience not only with her stunning mane of red hair, voluptuous looks and costumes but her wonderful vocal range is Jack Dani who belts out great versions of Beyonce's Single Ladies, Maroon 5’s This Love and provides a belter of a performance with Sia’s Chandelier.

Making up the numbers for the men is Mario Jose who gets to sing a velvety version of Sam Smith’s I’m Not the Only One and Justin Bieber’s Where Are You Now.

A newcomer to the Jukebox band is Emma Hatton who has appeared in the West End in Wicked as Elphaba and as Eva Peron in Evita and has an incredible voice.  Her rendition of Radiohead’s Creep really brought the house down. (see our YouTube vid below https://youtu.be/KBzNObDVczw)
Each performer takes a turn to perform one song returning, one assumes, after a chance to rest their voices and with the opportunity to change into some rather fabulous outfits from the PMJ wardrobe.

Half of the fun of the evening is second guessing which song is being sung; you kind of know the words but can’t place it until the song is in full throttle.  Every single number works so well in its newly jazzified form and the talent of the performers is without a doubt, impressive. 

Alongside Feorranzo and Guillary, the band are made up of the musical talents of Mike Chisnall on Guitar, Martin Diller on Drums, Shorack Hassan on Piano and founder member of PMJ, Adam Kubota on Bass who all get a chance to show off their skills.

We are also fortunate to witness the jaw dropping tap dancing talents of Lee Howard who dances like a dervish and has a chance to highlight his skills in a solo piece dancing alongside the PMJ version of Harry Potter’s Hedwig’s Theme.

Highlights for me were when all of the singers joined forces producing some really on point harmonies with Straight Up, Since You’ve Been Gone and my favourite of the night, Miley Cyrus’s We Can’t Stop sung A Cappella.

The evening was brought to an end with the whole audience on their feet dancing to Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off  with the band taking the opportunity to really connect with the fans.  This was my first time seeing PMJ - I’m pretty certain it won’t be my last.
What is Postmodern Jukebox?
http://postmodernjukebox.com/faq/
http://www.postmodernjukebox.com/
https://www.youtube.com/postmodernjukebox
https://www.facebook.com/postmodernjukebox
http://www.twitter.com/scottbradlee
http://www.twitter.com/pmjofficial
https://www.instagram.com/pmjofficial/
 
On iTunes: http://bit.ly/14OgP28
CHECK OUT THE LATEST VIDEOS
Taylor Swift 'Look What You Made Me Do',  Fleetwood Mac 'Don't Stop',
‘Beauty and The Beast’ Vintage Jazz Version

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