In his younger days, he would climb down a rope from the balcony.
Another tradition from P.D.Q. Bach concerts was his assistant stalling for time until the Professor arrived, often calling attention to audience members still coming in. I deliberately stayed in the lobby once and came in late.
When I saw him in the '80s, he made a similar entrance, though it culminated in him leaping up onto the stage from the aisle, and doing a belly-flop slide. I imagine it varied, based on the particulars of the venue’s design.
Igudesman and Joo are still mangling the classical repertoire in the Spike Jones tradition:
I’m not sure if this quite fits the intent of the thread but …
Back in the 1950s there was the Guckenheimer Sour Kraut Band (sic). Here’s a sample of their oeuvre:
They had a … unique … style. Do listen to the whole thing; its genius builds slowly. It’s only 2:46 out of your life. Trust me.
In a completely different vein, these folks are legitimately very talented musicians who take their serious music seriously. The fact they’re seriously hawt does not subtract from the experience of watching their vids.
They’re very good and I loved the song. But they are an exact clone of the earlier Bond. Bond were an all-women electric string quartet who combined rock and classical and other genres. Their selling point was that they were all “seriously hawt”. You’d need to be a music student to tell their sounds apart. Which is OK by me. I really liked Bond and wished they put out more albums.
Ventriloquists are many. I know of only one who put together a one-man show on Broadway and took it on tour. Jay Johnson: The Two & Only! Johnson is famous from the tv series Soap. The show dissects the history and practice of ventriloquism and is wonderful just as a loving tribute. What makes it astonishingly good is that Johnson uses thirteen dummies to produce effects that should be impossible for a human.
Here is a clip, but of course you really had to be there.
Anytime I see his name, I feel like I have to mention that he went to the same exact high school as Jeff Dunham, just during very different eras.
So, now I’ve mentioned it.
Love them! Anytime they perform at a festival we try to go.
I’ve seen Battlefield Band perform several times The present line-up consist of Alan Reid (Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals), Mike Katz (Highland Bagpipes/Small Pipes/Whistles/Guitar), Alasdair White (Fiddle/Whistle/Banjo/Bazouki/Highland and Small Pipes/Bodhran) and Sean O’ Donnell (Vocals/Guitar).
I won’t link to any videos but the Jim Rose Sideshow Circus was a pretty big deal in the 90s.
Ninja’d on most of the acts I was going to mention. How about Stomp?
Shit-faced Shakespreare - not a specific set of people, but then neither is Blue Man Group. And it’s friggin’ hilarious.
Red Priest, “the only early music group in the world to have been compared in the press to the Rolling Stones, Jackson Pollock, the Marx Brothers, Spike Jones and the Cirque du Soleil.”
Also in the 80’s I attended one of his concerts where his assistant started stalling, then we heard helicopter sounds and he climbed through a door in the ceiling and down a rope ladder to the stage.
My son’s Saxophone instructor who was a principal reed player at a major orchestra for a couple decades is also a big fan of Professor Schickele. I’ll have to ask him if he ever got to play in one of his concerts.
Then there’s Meshugga Beach Party. “Orthodox” Jewish surf music. By goys.
At the PDQ Bach Concert I saw in 2004, Prof. Schickele made his entrance wearing a hospital gown and being pushed onstage in a wheelchair…the obvious unspoken joke being “He’s almost 70 - what were you expecting?”
A friend of mine went to high school with Mr. Lifto.
Maybe we need a new thread: Peter Schickele’s Entrances.
1986: the first item on the program was a duet for bassoon and piano. Schickele was sitting on the stage holding his bassoon with a piano and empty piano bench nearby. The MC said that the pianist had unfortunately gone for a jog and hadn’t returned, and they just couldn’t wait any longer to start the show. Schickele shrugged and sat down at the piano with his bassoon and managed to pick out both parts in his inimitable style. As the piece approached the final cadence, the door burst open and the pianist, in running clothes, burst down the aisle, shouting “Wait! Wait!” He skidded to a stop beside Schickele, leaned over his shoulder, hit the final chord, and bowed proudly while Schickele glared at him ferociously. Very well done, and I still remember it after all these years.
How about a little Straight No Chaser? I saw them at IUP (Indiana University of PA) and they encouraged us to take video and put it up on YouTube.