Post Modern Jukebox → Adelaide Cabaret Festival

 
Racking up billions of YouTube views since they began in 2010, Postmodern Jukebox have become a world-renowned musical group. Like most viral sensations, Scott Bradlee founded Postmodern Jukebox in a basement in Queens. His mission? To reimagine the pop hits of today as jazz, swing, soul, and blues classics. Now, PMJ are such a cultural phenomenon that they tour worldwide, and made a stop at the final night of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival to send audiences home on a high note! 


At its core, PMJ aims to remind audiences that whilst technology and AI in music continues to rise, it is no match for live performance. It can never replace the magic that pure human talent can create. It will never be able to evoke emotion like live performance can. This message is the foundation of their ‘The Future is Vintage’ Tour. 


MC Rogello Douglas Jr opened the show with a vintage Havana-style cover of Hotel California, surrounded by the incredible 5-piece live band. Instantly, I had a beaming smile on my face! 


From here, Douglas run us through a quick ‘history of music’ segment, featuring Demi Remi and Tatum Langley, who came out dressed as the caricatures of the decades, from the invention of the gramophone, through to the 20s, 80s, 00s, to a bleak future decades from now, of a music industry overtaken by AI. 


Despite this turn, they remind us that technology and music can coexist, as Douglas uses this narrative to propel us through PMJ’s classic covers of the songs audiences grew to love. Whether you discovered Die For You by The Weekend on Spotify, or first heard If You Wanna Be My Lover by The Spice Girls on the radio, PMJ reminds us that these technologies were always there, but live performances by humans cannot be replaced. WE ALL, at the end of the day, have the power to control the outcome of the industry.  And buying a ticket to a live show is the perfect act of resistance to it all… Once this tone was set, PMJ had us clicking, clapping and bopping along for the remainder of the show. 


Doing the work of what could be a fully cast dance ensemble, is ONE Demi Remi, a powerhouse tapper, dancer and performer. It is rare to see tap dance take centre stage these days, and Remi was up there multiple times, tearing it up! She syncopated her rhythms with the band playing behind her, performed a highly engaging Star Wars / Sci-Fi skit and even came sauntering about as Lola (the showgirl). 


PMJ royalty Tatum Langley was a standout throughout, she is the epitome of vintage class and exudes an infectious stage presence. Langley performed her passionate cover of Die For You by The Weekend, giving it a new narrative in this James Bond-esque cover. She was highly emotive as she sang it as an almost heart-wrenching love confession, nailing these impressive rises and falls in her voice and tone. And I'm sorry, the YouTube video does not come close to her live rendition! 


Also on this tour as female vocalists are Jackie Mac and Katerina Lomis (a recent addition to the PMJ family and only 24 years old!). The trio sang a boppy cover of If You Wanna Be My Lover, and All About That Bass, nailing beautiful harmonies and layering of their unique vocals. 


Lomis carried the first female solo, giving a confident and smooth performance of ABBA’s Thank You For The Music. Lomis possesses a uniquely distinctive voice, its powerful, cheeky, and was delivered with the confidence of a performer destined for big things!


Jackie Mac encapsulated us in a stripped back solo of Every Breath You Take by the Police, earning her many standing ovations. Again I say, the feeling of witnessing all this live cannot be replaced. 


Another audience favourite moment was when drummer Willie Jay Moore Jr sang Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. Live, his voice softly makes its way into your soul, and for some us who were unfamiliar to the cover, were left absolutely in awe. 


Seeing Postmodern Jukebox live should be up there with your other bucket list companies. Scanning my eyes across the audience, there sat Adelaideians of all ages, proving that PMJ’s appeal transcends generations. Upon leaving, you are reminded about the transformative power of music. You are reminded that there is something truly magical about people coming together to create art. And what a message to be left with after an incredible three weeks immersed in the joyous, moving, unforgettable Delicious Revolution of live performance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

- By Sophie Tsoulos


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