Written by Dave Clements

Over 15,000 Houstonians missed one of the best shows of the year. My wife and I could just as easily have been among them.  On this Wednesday night with less than ideal weather impacting the pleasure of being outdoors at the beautiful Woodlands Pavilion, we had no idea we were in for such an unexpected treat!

There were many talented artists who showed up in The Woodlands to entertain that night. We watched Postmodern Jukebox and Straight No Chaser’s Double Feature Tour (with Jon McLaughlin opening) in utter amazement.

Jon McLaughlin opened with 4 songs while the setting sun beat down on the stage. Unfazed, McLaughlin impressed me and obviously had his musical act together.  It was all him and his keyboard and that was all he needed to get the unfortunately light crowd going. A Nashville resident with lots of Texas roots as well, I wish more of his kin folks had come to the show.  They would have been proud!  Certainly has to be tough as the opener while still daylight to look out and see so many empty seats.

The sun had set by the time the Postmodern Jukebox hit the stage. The only reason we were there was the draw of Austin native Casey Abrams.  Casey wowed us several years ago when we caught his performance at the Idlewild Jazz Festival in California.  Since then we’d been waiting not so patiently to see catch him somewhere again.  When I discovered that he was touring with Postmodern Jukebox I just knew really GOOD was going to happen.  So the big bonus was to discover all the rest of the talent that came with this group as we honestly had no clue.  It was worth the wait.

So happy to report we were right about Casey Abrams! He was every bit as good as we remembered his bandmates, actually ‘troupe’ mates, were equally as entertaining.  I don’t really know what to say about Postmodern Jukebox.  They are not like any group I’ve ever seen in the 50 years I have been watching live music.  They performed in costumes, almost vaudevillian, and were as theatrical as they were musical.  They all had extremely high energy, many were funny as hell, and it was definitely sensory overload.  They entertained this appreciative audience for well over an hour with at least 4 different guest entertainers, including Casey, taking center stage on a rotational basis during the set.

They are a must see if you have another chance to see them.  It’s an event that must be witnessed to believe.  That’s all I can give you.  Just go!

Following this one of a kind performance was the co-headliner known as Straight No Chaser. Nine young, handsome guys that came together in 1996 at Indiana University – and they sing even better than they look.  Imagine same suit x 9, same white shirt x 9, yet 9 distinctive voices.  When blended together have a unique sound that simply works ‘Straight Up’…No Chaser.  There was no instrumentation beyond their vocal cords!  Another unique one of a kind, never experienced before show.  They sung a broad range of music including covers by Sam Cooke, Ike & Tina Turner, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Beyonce. Abba and The Blues Brothers.  Then they closed out the night with a cover of The Five Satins’ classic In The Still Of The Night.

Granted I liked their selection of songs, but it was more about the talent they brought to the stage. To be able to have nine part harmony song after song a cappella is incredible!  Hard to imagine we would have passed up this great opportunity to witness this tour had it not been for following Casey Abrams.  I’m damn glad we didn’t!

Until next time please remember there is NO TIME TO KILL so go watch some live music tonight!!!

dwc