Post Modern Jukebox Return To Wellington - Wellington Opera House 7 October 2018

Back to the Capital for the 4th time, Scott Bradlee's Post Modern Jukebox travelling review returned again to wow us with remodelled pop tunes set into the jazz, swing and musical templates of old.  And wow, did they ever impress!  Music swung (literally) between Radiohead to Taylor Swift and everything in between.  Even one of Bieber's schmaltzy-est numbers was done over as a lush and entirely credible ballad, delivered by newby Mario Rose.  He totally nailed Where Are U Now, making you forget everything and forgot everything else ever mattered.  It really felt like he was singing straight to you, alone.

The night kicked off with a bit of old-fashioned pizazz as the band took to the stage for a vibrant performance from out 'FeM-C' of the night, Ariana Savalas, who did a brilliant version of Sisqo’s 1999 hit Thong Song.  That included some rather raunchy tap dancing that mixed old-time rag and burlesque, courtesy of Arissa Lee.  She also popped back on, dressed in a Josephine Baker-styled dress for more stunning tap-work later on.  Savalas proved to be a provocative ringmaster, knocking out a couple of stormy numbers including a seductive striptease to the tune of Ginuwine's Pony.  In Auckland, I hear, she did this with the help of an unsuspecting audience member.  No such luck tonight.

Back again was the heartbreaker, and longterm term fan fav Von Smith, to blow us away with Cry Me A River (sung at the highest falsetto I've ever heard!).  He was joined by San Francisco Bay Area powerhouse Mario Jose, the 'kid of the group' 17 year old 'movie' starlet Olivia Kuper Harris (who won 2017’s PMJ vocal Search), the sexy and the sultry Brielle Von Hugel

As with all PMJ shows the musicians are just as part of the show as the singers.  Clarinet and sax player Chloe Feoranzo (who's been before, as well).  Sung and gave us a few nerdy jams.  Bassist and MD Adam Kubota was once again the perfect conductor and leader from the back.  My personal highlight (apart from Hadaway's What is Love? done swing style) was their reworking of Radiohead’s classic Creep, done as a true torch song, oozing emotion and self-loathing.  Marlene Dietrich would' loved it! Such an emotive ballad.  Also worth a mention was the very twee Hey Ya and Beyonce’s All The Single Ladies, and not forgetting a glorious cover of Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning.  The show finished in full Broadway power and glitter with Taylor Swift's Shake It Off.  It's not hard to do a better version than the original, as Ryan Adams has proven.   But this one really does take the cake!

Every time I go, I really enjoy myself.  PMJ are an institution that blows the lid of the Capital.  If I had only one tiny criticism, it's that the formula of singers and a tap dance is just getting a little too comfortable.  I want more now and knowing how this cast is recruited and the pool of talent out there I want to see more and more.  PMJ is a brilliant platform for bringing back all these older skills - from the old theatre days.  Please give us more, more, more!!!

Sisqo – Thong Song
Sam Smith – I’m Not the Only One
Katy Perry – Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)
Justin Timberlake – Cry Me A River
Outkast – Hey Ya
Radiohead – No Surprises
Harry Potter Theme – Tap Dance Interlude
Ginuwine – Pony
Skrillex & Diplo – Where Are U Now w/ Justin Bieber
Beyonce – All The Single Ladies
Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
Smash Mouth – Rockstar
Selena Gomez – Same Old Love
Maroon 5 – Sunday Morning
Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the dark
Tears For Fears – Mad World
Radiohead – Creep
[Happy Birthday Interlude]
Meghan Trainor – All About The Bass
Haddaway – What Is Love (Baby Don’t Hurt Me)
Taylor Swift – Shake It Off

See Poster at the bottom of this page for a concert near you or go to https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=post%20moder%20jukebox & http://postmodernjukebox.com/

Thanks to Nicole Thomas at NicNak Media 

Photos by Tim Gruar

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!! SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX ANNOUNCE NEW ZEALAND TOUR DATES BRINGING THEIR VINTAGE TWIST ON MODERN POP SONGS BACK TO FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!! SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX ANNOUNCE NEW ZEALAND TOUR DATES BRINGING THEIR VINTAGE TWIST ON MODERN POP SONGS BACK TO FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY 

New Zealand loves Postmodern Jukebox!! 

The Coffeebar Kid interviews Scott Bradlee 

Following two successful tours over the last two years, Nice Events is proud to announce Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox will return to New Zealand in September 2017 for another mammoth national tour. Friday 29th September Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland Sunday 1st October Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch Tuesday 3rd October Opera House, Wellington "We're once again excited to bring our vintage universe of pop music performed by some of the greatest talent in the world back Down Under! Dress to impress and plan on having a night to remember!" – Scott Bradlee. 2016 was another big year for PMJ! They completed a 75-city sold-out European run in June 2016 and a 45-date North American tour from September to November 2016, which included their first-ever performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In 2015, PMJ sold out their first Australasian tour, prompting high praise from media. The West Australian said the show had the audience “clapping, cheering, singing, dancing or simply gathering our collective jaws off the Astor’s carpet,” while Time Out wrote, “It’s fun. It’s funny, and it’s bringing a fresh take to pop tunes of this century with musical forms made popular in the last one!”

Created by Bradlee, the rotating collective of Postmodern Jukebox has spent the past few years amassing more than 600 million YouTube views and 2+ million subscribers, performed on “Good Morning America,” topped iTunes and Billboard charts and played hundreds of shows to packed-house crowds around the world. As NPR put it, they’ve done this by “taking current Top 40 hits and re-imagining them as coming from older eras of popular music.” In one such remake, Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox turned Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” into a doo-wop ditty that’s garnered over 16.4 million views. Last year, they envisioned Radiohead’s alt-rock hit “Creep” as a torch-like ballad that’s racked up over 25 million views and was named one of the “9 Best Viral Cover Videos of 2015” by People magazine. Multi-Grammy winning artist Lorde praised Postmodern Jukebox’s vintage take on her hit single, “Royals,” which has been viewed over 17 million times, as her “favourite.” They recently performed a ‘30s jazz remake of Elle King’s “Ex’s & Oh’s” for MT.V UK – click HERE to watch. The group's accomplishments has earned them praise from a plethora of media outlets, including Mashable, who wrote, “Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox are all about reimagining music and framing it in beautiful new ways.” Entertainment Weekly wrote, “Scott Bradlee’s group is known for retro-fying modern hit songs into viral success.”

Yahoo! Music added, “if you’ve been on YouTube in the last couple of years, then you’re familiar with the everything- new-is-old-again brilliance of the viral phenomenon known as Postmodern Jukebox.” Since beginning their touring career in 2014, Postmodern Jukebox has consistently played in bigger venues each time they’ve returned to a market. In 2015 they played two sold-out shows at the 2,100-capacity PlayStation Theatre in New York City. This year, they returned to the Big Apple on October 7th to play a sold out show the historic Radio City Music Hall. In 2017 they add the iconic Sydney Opera House to their list of venues – a major international milestone in the touring schedule for Scott Bradlee’s troupe of performers.

Bradlee, the mastermind behind the group, has turned Postmodern Jukebox into a juggernaut by building an incredible grassroots movement around the act. He continues to pick the songs, create the arrangements and shows, and puts together the performers - which includes some notable names alongside phenomenal "undiscovered" talent. The group releases a new video every week, each one shot in the casual environment where he can often be seen playing piano in the background. A very busy man these days, Bradlee splits his time between producing new videos in Los Angeles and traveling the globe to manage his tours. "I posted the first video in 2009,” recalls Bradlee. “I was broke and living in Queens, NY. Seven years later, we have over 2 million subscribers, we’ve sold out shows across four continents and we’ve become a showcase for an incredible group of performers. Every single one of our cast has unique superpowers. I take pride in putting together the right powers and personalities to create a unique and amazing experience for our fans. We want them to escape reality and join us for the most sensational 1920s party this side of The Great Gatsby. We want them to experience what it was like to be at the New Years' Eve show that Sinatra would have hosted in the 1940s. We want them to feel the excitement of hearing the greats of Motown live and up close. Our goal is to give our audiences their favourite show again and again and still have it feel like the very first time."

Postmodern Jukebox is certainly a rebuke to the contention that ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’ - and there’s something truly special about witnessing their musical magic live. To echo Bradlee’s own invitation: “Dust off the turntable, fix yourself a stiff drink, and get comfy. Welcome to the world of Postmodern Jukebox.”

TICKETS ON-SALE TUESDAY 28TH DECEMBER
Friday 29th September - Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland
Sunday 1st October - Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
Tuesday 3rd October - Opera House, Wellington

Tickets available via www.wearenice.com.au http://postmodernjukebox.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/postmodernjukebox