This past Saturday, I was invited by my cool, young aunt to go watch a neat little band called Postmodern Jukebox play at the local Alabama Theatre, which is an opulent movie palace (built in 1927) located in Downtown Birmingham. Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), for the uninitiated, is a collaboration of different musicians who take popular songs from the past few years and transform them into old-style jazz and ragtime tunes. With PMJ's unique jazz repertoire in mind, Alabama Theatre was a very apt venue; PMJ stood on a stage that had previously held the kinds of bands that inspired them. Many of the people in the audience were dressed to the nines as Capone-esque gangsters and Dietrich-esque flappers.
Throughout the night, Postmodern Jukebox introduced a gaggle of different singers, all lovely people with incredible voices. Each song had a different singer, which gave me the idea that the singers all have their specific strengths and talents. The setlist was a pastiche of different styles: jazz, soul, doo-wop, ragtime, and 60s rock. The instrumentalist section included a pianist, a bassist, a drummer, a woodwind player (who played flute, clarinet, and sax), a brass player (who played trumpet and trombone), and an extremely cheery tambourine player who stole the crowd's collective heart.
The most spectacular performance that night was PMJ and Miya Sykes' soul-filled cover of Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy." The entire time I watched, I could not help but wonder how big Miya Sykes' lungs were; she sped through Biggie's bars without missing a beat or losing her breath. Miya Sykes returned to the stage later that night to deliver a spine-tingling rendition of alternative darling Radiohead's "Creep." Though all the singers that performed with Postmodern Jukebox were phenomenal, I don't think I'm wrong in saying that Miya Sykes was their shining star with her mastery of breath control, ability to hit insanely high notes, and trademark brand of sassy soul.
Other remarkable performances included a cabaret version of the super-sensual, hip-hop track "Pony" by Ginuwine, performed by the sexy Ariana Savalas. Dressed like a pin-up girl, Savalas suggestively danced around on a chair whilst begging the audience to "ride [her] pony." She even brought an audience member up on stage and gave him a lap dance whilst making jokes about how this encounter had "come prematurely." This was, without a doubt, the funniest spectacle of the night.
In conclusion, Postmodern Jukebox, a little band that gained fame from their viral YouTube videos, performs fabulously as a touring ensemble. Having seen their videos prior to the concert, I had my doubts about how they would transition from playing while recorded to playing live. As any musician knows, there is a profound difference between live and recorded music. To be honest, I like PMJ's material better when performed in front of a crowd. The crowd participation and the atmosphere of the venue greatly added to the experience. I hope to see PMJ return to Alabama Theatre in the near future.
