This Wednesday, The Bishop featured smooth jazz upright bass lines coupled with violins, mandolins, hollow body electric guitars, and even more a downright stirring atmosphere. The Double Digits opened for the Two Man Gentlemen Band (TMGB) in front of an intimate crowd, where even front man, Andy Bean, of TMGB remarked “We’d throw someone out, but then we’d lose 10% of our crowd.” Despite arriving a little late to the show, the opener was already in full swing and, bowtie upon taking in the scene, a few things immediately peaked my interest. Predominantly catching my eye was the bassist slapping a cherry red upright bass garnishing a fedora, , and stylish brown leather shoes (circa 1960). Almost as eye catching as the bassist was the violin player in the background bow in hand, moving fluidly as a river up and down the strings. I found an overwhelming appreciation in the way the band followed the basic theory of construction led me to see how the members felt each other and how they could deviate to make the live performance original and fresh. Double Digits left the stage, providing an appropriate entrance for Two Man Gentlemen Band. When Two Man Gentlemen Band took the stage I was completely unprepared for the comedic relief I found between a varying selections of songs. Andy Bean (front man), “The Councilman” (upright bassist), and touring drummer comprised The Two Man Gentlemen Band. Despite the words of front man Andy Bean as he pronounced to the crowd why we shouldn’t close our eyes, “most of the songs [will] sound exactly the same”, the show spanned sentiments of everywhere from a 20’s swing club, an old western saloon, a classy 50’s jazz bar, and everywhere in between. Even more impressive than the spanning period music was the variety of instruments featured during the set. Bean played a hollow bodied electric, mandolin, banjo, and mouth trumpet. Dean’s partner in crime, the Councilman, played an upright bass and kazoo. Yet, Bean referred the Councilman’s bass as “A giant fiddle," I can attest, if you closed your the Councilman might have fooled you into thinking a fiddle was playing. The variety of instruments paired with a toe tapping drum beat provided upbeat enthusiasm the crowd couldn’t help but jive to. The Councilman remarked a portion of the show as “A jazz grab bag with a banjo,” and somehow I couldn’t agree more. Even if you don’t quite find contemporary 20’s and 30’s swing music as your cup of tea, The Bishop would have left you swinging after Double Digits and Two Man Gentlemen Band. I respect anyone that can get up on stage and perform live as the two bands did. They fed off each other and no one member was more important in generating the performance than another. Conclusion for this writer, live music offers more to the viewers than analog can, go out and see some shows people!
