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Join us on Saturday November 1 at 8:00pm at
the Prince Theatre for a concert with New York's "Two Man Gentleman
Band!" Tickets are $10 and are available by calling the Sultana
Projects' office at 410-778-5954 or directly from the Prince Theatre box
office.
More about the Two Man Gentleman Band . . .
Free kazoos, impeccably tailored outfits, rowdy sing-alongs, furious
banjo strumming, and a set full of quirky, clever, sometimes-naughty
original tunes. That's The Two Man Gentlemen Band's formula for a good,
old-fashioned musical spectacle.
Hailing from New York City, The Two Man Gentlemen Band combines hot
jazz, old-time country, tin pan alley, and vaudevillian swing to create
a joyous two-man sound that is all their own. Performing with plectrum
banjo, string bass, kazoos, and foot percussion, The Gentlemen whip
themselves into a frenzy that is unlike any acoustic duo on the road
today. With the energy of a band two or three times their numbers, The
Two Man Gentlemen Band concocts
a ruckus that is lively, danceable, and insanely fun.
The music provides a perfect foundation for The Gentlemen's wry,
idiosyncratic lyrics, which vary in subject from the historical, to the
romantic, to the bawdy, to the inane. On their latest album alone,
(Heavy Petting, Serious Business Records) The Gentlemen sing an ode to
William Howard Taft, compare true love to the square root of two,
celebrate the skills of a female kazooist, challenge each other to a
badminton duel, and extol the virtues of, you guessed it, heavy petting.
Though they pepper many of their tunes with playful innuendo, The
Gentlemen - being Gentlemen, after all - never utter a vulgar word. The
unifying element in their music is not the occasional naughty
insinuation, but rather the clever, good-natured wit that shines through
in each of their songs - especially when they are performed live on
stage.
Beginning with the ritual distribution of free kazoos (provided by the
band's sponsor, Kazoos.com) and ending with a camp-revival-like
shout-along about our fattest president, a live performance by The Two
Man Gentlemen Band is a non-stop festival of interactive, old-fashioned
entertainment. Banjoist Andy Bean serves as master of ceremonies
and scarcely allows the band or the audience to take a breath. Equal
parts vaudevillian comic, depression-era huckster, and society
gentleman, Bean cajoles the audience to participate; scolding them
playfully when they cannot answer one of his trivia questions ("What's
the difference between a blimp and a zeppelin?") and offering
constructive critiques of their performance during one of the
show's many kazoo-alongs ("You sound like a swarm of locusts!"). Bassist
Fuller Condon plays the silent straight-man, stoically accepting the
antics of his partner with the mild disdain of an older sibling.
Two years of full-time street-performing in New York City's Central Park
taught the gentlemen this: when the band slows down, the audience takes
a hike. So, The Two Man Gentlemen Band never slows down. And the
audience never stops smiling.
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