Live Review: Postmodern Jukebox

Punters arrived in droves, dressed to the teeth in their best vintage and vaudevillian rags, matched perfectly to the grandeur and opulence of the state theatre. Blinking lights, golden statues and remarkably short bar queues made the entire operation seem very distant to the Sydney CBD in which it resides. 

Once everyone was seated, the fantastic array of musicians that make up Postmodern Jukebox sauntered onto the dimly lit stage. They took their positions behind podiums and pianos to thunderous applause before vocalist Ariana Savalas glided on stage. She briefly introduced the band and herself as the master of ceremonies. The band begun to riff together, highlighting their chops as phenomenal instrumentalists, but also carry with them an air of the everyman. There was no pretence or snobbery. Every note they hit square, every harmony was tight, and every band member’s face was plastered with a huge and often very cheeky grin.

The band’s setlist was a fantastic dissection of modern pop hits. Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night (TGIF) was thrown back to the '50s, graced with fat horns and a duel between scatting vocalists and pianists. Von Smith’s stunning tenor graced Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me A River, his range almost as high as the ceiling of the venue. He remained on stage, turning from frontman to back-up singer while the band launched into OutKast's Hey Ya. From there the band launched into what seemed to be a brief musical interlude, playing the Harry Potter theme song accompanied by a burlesque tap dancer. Savalas came back on the stage, and the unmistakable opening riff of Ginuwine’s Pony was punched out of a trombone. Savalas made her way through the front rows of the crowd and pulled a gentleman onto the stage, and much to his delight sang the entire song to him. The second bracket was just as packed as the first, Maroon 5's Sunday Morning and Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass both highlights. Radiohead’s Creep was a fantastic inclusion of all vocalists and instrumentals and led perfectly into the finale; Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off has never sounded so good. 

Postmodern Jukebox delivered the goods. They were all consummate professionals, without ever giving the appearance that they were at work. They were enjoying themselves just as much as the audience, and that was indeed a lot. The night was a perfect mix of the cheese and pomp of musical theatre, the infectious melodies of modern pop music and the incredible musical skills of a handful of talented individuals. It made your humble narrator wish he stuck at the trombone just that little bit longer.