This Week’s Shows 8-7-16

Posted by Andrew D Meyer on August 12, 2016 in Concerts, Live Shows, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I’m back in the Baltic on EC and have had the good fortune of MD’ing for some of my all-time favorite entertainers this week. I’ve been all over the map both geographically and stylistically…Russia to Copenhagen and comedy-juggling to swing and musical theater. It’s been a great week and I’ve really enjoyed the shows.

First up was the madness that is Pete Matthews. I’ve been playing Pete’s show for about 4 years. The amazing thing about doing this show is that after doing it as many times as I have, it’s still hilarious. Always a fun night. It’s really cool to see someone do a show with a regular structure but somehow manage to keep it loose with an improvisatory feel. I know most of the jokes, but the delivery is always fresh and surprising so it feels new, even having done it many times.

Next up, David Austen. I’ve known David for about a year now and have MD’d his show about a half a dozen nights. He’s rapidly becoming one of my favorite entertainers to work with. He’s does quite a bit of Michael Buble and Josh Groban type of stuff, which makes sense considering he’s performed with Groban in the past. He also does some musical theater, some Bond themes, and Tom Jones as well. He has a few more dates with us later this year so i’m looking forward to doing this show again in the near future. Fun fact about David: he used to play professional cricket.

Last, but far from least, Jayne Curry. I’ve known Jayne for about about 4 years and have played and MD’d her show many times so it’s always great when she comes around. You’ll never meet someone who is more of a total pro and just an absolute pleasure to work with. Jayne has a lovely singing voice and does Andrew Lloyd Webber, Etta James, Celine Dion, and more and is generally hilarious and very endearing to audiences. Luckily, Jayne comes around pretty often so i’ll be doing this show again in a few weeks.

I’ve also added a few new tunes into my small group rep. We started doing a mellow swing thing called ‘As Quietly as It’s Kept’ that has a really long form and an understated melody. Very cool tune. Another one is called 213 Cha Cha that’s kind of a boogaloo with some pretty tight and dissonant harmonies. Fun to play. The last one is kind of a Thad Jones-style tune called Cherry Pickens. Lot’s of affected swing and sudden dynamic changes.