Pink Martini Take 2

Yesterday it was clear that Pink Martini was a novelty to many of you, so let me give you a quick brief. The bandleader puts is quite nicely:

"Pink Martini is a rollicking around-the-world musical adventure ... if the United Nations had a house band in 1962, hopefully we'd be that band." - Thomas Lauderdale, bandleader/pianist

These guys are incredible, they span over a wide range of musical genres, and sing in most know languages, plus a few more. From their website: "In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, thinking that one day he would run for mayor. Like other eager politicians-in-training, he went to every political fundraiser under the sun... but was dismayed to find the music at these events underwhelming, lackluster, loud and un-neighborly. Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world - crossing genres of classical, jazz and old- fashioned pop - and hoping to appeal to conservatives and liberals alike, he founded the "little orchestra" Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks. One year later, Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate who was living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini... Singer Storm Large began performing with Pink Martini in March 2011, when China Forbes took a leave of absence to undergo surgery on her vocal chords. Forbes made full recovery and both she and Large continue to perform with Pink Martini." You can read it all here, under about!

It was Storm Large who was the lead singer yesterday, and she was something else. She is a hurricane of an entertainer, and has a great voice. Towards the end of the show, they also brought in an opera singer (who's name escapes me) who happened to be in Barcelona. Absolutely fantastic! It is amazing to see how much fun these guys have while performing.

Mostly, Pink Martini brings you back in time, 30, 40, 50, 60, etc. years, but one of my favorites is a contemporary song, Hey Eugene (China Forbes, 2007). The closing act yesterday was Brazil, where Storm Large had the entire theatre dancing!

What can I say? These Martinis are addictive, but they give no hangover whatsoever!