“The twist is the new twerk” is the motto of the 1920s-meets-modern-pop band, Postmodern Jukebox, who entertained a dapper crowd at the Bijou Theatre Tuesday night.
The band entertained the audience with hits from artists such as Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus, Jason Derulo and Nicki Minaj—but it was Postmodern Jukebox’s jazzy, classic sound that added with these modern hits to create a musical brand all its own.
The idea behind Postmodern Jukebox is rather simple—the band takes popular hip-hop, pop and R&B songs from this era and reinvent them into a 1920s flapper meets Motown style.
To do this, the band consists of a piano, an upright bass, a small drum set, a horn section, a tap dancer and a set of talented singers.
To introduce this one-of-a-kind sound, the jazz style band kicked off the night with “Wiggle” by Jason Derulo. Though the songs performed throughout the night still embodied those typical rap and hip-hop themes found in most modern music, the old-timey sound and feel gave these songs a classier feel, much like drinking beer from a wine glass.
The words were basically the same, omitting a few curse words here and there, and the sound was one unlike anything else in music today, but the physical performance also served for a highly entertaining night.
As if the music wasn’t enough of a spectacle, a small portion of the stage was set aside for the rhythmic beats of the talented tap dancer. Throughout many numbers, and a few of his own solos, the tapper both entertained the crowd and contributed to Postmodern Jukebox’s overall vibe.
Other than the musical styling itself, a crucial key to this ragtime music vibe was the band’s apparel. In shiny show girl dresses and snazzy suspenders and suits, the band truly played the part to make for a classy, Gatsby-esque evening.
What better place to have these elegant guests than Knoxville’s own Bijou Theatre? The classy venue further supported Postmodern Jukebox’s mission with its exaggerated moldings and vintage ambiance.
Scott Bradlee, the pianist and creator of the band, even applauded the beauty of the historic theater during a small break.
“This is such a beautiful theatre,” Bradlee said. “It’s perfect for kind of what we’re doing.”
However, it was the instruments and singers who truly set this band apart from most. With a wailing trombone in the background, a fast-paced, old-timey piano melody and equally vintage vocals, Postmodern Jukebox both shocked and thrilled the crowd with their all dolled up versions of “Womanizer” by Britney Spears, “Rude” by Magic! and “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen.
The band also covered older popular songs such as “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul, “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback and “Waterfalls” by TLC. Many of these songs were given a slower, doo-wop sound than their original versions. Meanwhile, songs such as the booty-anthem remix “Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj kept its fast pace with a bouncy, up-tempo melody and rhythm.
To continue their elegant theme, Postmodern Jukebox performed the all too appropriate song, “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. With a slight change in syncopation, the singer somehow transformed this rap-heavy song into a bluesy number.
But to close the night, Bradlee went back to his roots by stripping down the performance to just him and his piano.
“It was just kind of me and the piano,” Bradlee said. “So I want to take a second and go back to those day … I don’t usually do this, but I’m going to do a song for you guys.”
To do this, he asked for the crowd to suggest a few famous musicians throughout time. After picking a few from the shouts of the crowd, he created a spontaneous improvisation of songs by Queen, musical icons, Madonna and Johnny Cash and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free bird.”
To later end the night, the entire band came together on “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift followed by “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. Both songs perfectly embodied the jazz-filled, essence through both of these popular modern songs, as well as the other numerous songs the band reinvented.
