Review: Postmodern Jukebox part of unforgettable night

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The worlds of top album smash hits, Broadway musicals, opera, burlesque, jazz and the elegant voices of old college pals in grey sports coats, white shirts and sneakers shined on the Saratoga Performing Arts Stage on Wednesday night as Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox and a capella sensation Straight No Chaser starred as the evening’s Double Feature show.

Under the summer sun, the inside capacity crowd was treated to Wednesday’s opening musical rainbow of string and brass instruments along with piano accompaniment that served as the cloud that supported a range of voices that were worthy to say that each one came down from heaven.

Unfamiliar with Postmodern Jukebox, the adult couples seated nearby shared stories of favorite moments, the number of times they had seen the musical variety show spectacle with eager anticipation.

It took just a few songs to understand that the night would be one that would be unforgettable.

Entering from stage right, the group walked on with the energy and sound of a New Orleans jazz band and its own rendition of “All About Bass” with vocalists Casey Abrams, Dani Armstrong, Aubrey Logan, Kenton Chen and Ariana Savalas with each talent proving their worthiness of a single headliner throughout the night.

In an era where vocalists are encouraged almost every weeknight in numerous musical contests that the public votes on who should day and who should be dismissed with their coaches encouraging them to “make it their own,” those are just simply words.

Postmodern Jukebox lives that mantra through each one of its 16-song set.

With Savalas at the microphone as the troupe’s female emcee her sharp wit, command of the audience and the stage is only made more remarkable by her singing voice alone. If that wasn’t enough to keep the crowd’s hands chapped from clapping, her show stopping and jaw-dropping burlesque number at the end of her rendition of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” was seared into the memories of each and every male member of the audience.

The surprises were endless with Logan singing Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” and showing her range of talent with her own trombone playing to go along with her strong set of pipes.

Male singer Casey Abrams belted out Rhianna’s “Umbrella” singing as world renowned tap artist Sarah Reich was highlighted on stage in appropriate yellow umbrella and matching raincoat.

Special note needs to made of the beautiful presence and power within Dani Armstrong whose deep, throaty and operatic range filled the SPAC amphitheater during Sia’s “Chandelier.”

The first-time PMJ showgoer had to be converted to PMJ disciple with the flick of a switch and appreciate the groups range in both vocals and song selection when Logan performed Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby.”

Abrams would return to the stage and belt out Radiohead’s “Creep” to the delight of the mature audience before Chen made another appearance and demonstrated the joy and passion exploding out of his small frame in none other than Nine Inch Nails song “Closer.”

Despite a joke by Savalas about Justin Bieber in her opening monologue and introductions, PMJ closed out the night with the entire ensemble performing “Sorry,” with the crowd both new and familiar with the Postmodern Jukebox only sorry that they show was over.

After a continued minimization of the SPAC stage the closing act of Straight No Chaser, the Indiana University a capella group that was formed in 1996 and then found fame courtesy of social media in 2006 from a 1998 recording of their unique “12 Days of Christmas” the round of male vocalists continue to create melodies without instruments.

The variety of sounds, the strength of the group to dispel any misplaced labels about the ability of an instrument-less ensemble is put to rest quickly with their opening Eurhythmics number “Sweet Dreams,” Sam Cooke’s “Twisting,” the Tokens “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and CCR’s “Rollin on the River” with a distinct Tina Turner flavor set the tone for a second set of the evening’s highlights.

With a college, frat boy humor mixed into the stage presence of all 10 vocalists showed their strengths both as a group and soloists.

Straight No Chaser tenor Jerome Collins serves as both frontman for numerous songs along with inserting his own sense of humor as the lone African-American singer in the group. His ability to wow the crowd throughout his solos and stage presence to add within each number made the lack of instruments inconsequential.

Humor was part of the show as the group early on made fun of stories musicals imbedded in the minds of many with their own slant, utilizing the video board behind them and short, humorous numbers kept the evening light and enjoyable.

Besides classics from Marvin Gaye and Willie Nelson the smiles continued to spread across the audience as the 80s and 90s came to life with their own Boy Band Medley before moving into the hand raising, head shaking Blues Brother medley that kept the crowd engaged and moving along with the music.

Straight No Chaser has their third installment of their “Six Pack” CD and digital bundle available on Friday, making their final sic’d performance of its Beyoncé Medley a show-stopper.

The crowd was passed rhythmically into their cars and sent along with tunes in their heads and melodies to hum at work as Straight No Chaser went back to the beginning, losing the handheld microphones, grouped together one again shoulder to shoulder for The Five Satins “The Still of the Night”

From big brass sounds to the chart topping vocal abilities of Postmodern Jukebox to the harmony of sounds from those without instruments from Straight No Chaser, the Double Feature proved that memorable music and the moments that surround them do not have to involve turning the radio/ MP3/phone control up to 10.