Paul Harris and the Cleverlys

It is not an easy task to review Paul Harris and the Cleverlys, for it is impossible to describe their show. So, let me say right up front, this Branson show is so good that I wish it was a weekly TV series. I would love to see it again tonight.

Staged with no decoration, no back drop, no special effects, and no fancy lighting, this show is a throwback to the early days of Branson (before the dancers, the Vegas-style lighting, and the Broadway staging).  Harris need not apologize for the minimalist staging, however, for once he and the boys start playing, it’s obvious that they are a talented bluegrass band, and that is the only thing that matters.

What isn’t so obvious – at least up front – is that the bluegrass is just an added bonus. It took me about a song and a half to realize exactly what I was watching, but I don’t feel bad, for some in the audience took longer to catch on.  What we were watching was perhaps the funniest man to pick up a stringed instrument since Tommy Smothers or Steve Martin. From the minute Paul Harris walked on stage until the time the lights went out, his tongue was firmly planted in his cheek.

The show is really a mock concert.  Paul Harris and his band are the opening act.  When they are finished performing, Paul Harris warms the audience up with his comedy.  After intermission, the main attraction takes the stage.  The main attraction is the band, The Cleverlys, which is, of course, the alter-ego of Paul Harris and his band.  Like the original Blues Brothers, one just doesn’t know how seriously to take them.

Harris is from Arkansas, and when he is in character as Digger Cleverly, the Arkansas drawl is exaggerated by ten-fold.  He dons sunglasses and a cowboy hat and never cracks a smile.  It is his straight face, and the straight faces in the band, that left some in the audience wondering if they were serious.  Let me advise those going to this show, the only thing serious is that this band is seriously talented.  Harris presents a couple of classic bluegrass tunes, and gives a nod to Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass, and to Earl Scruggs, but most of their music is unconventional.

Let me clarify: they present unconventional songs set to bluegrass music.  Music selected includes a Black-eyed Peas tune, a Fergie song, and a number from Bruce Hornsby.  There is even a rendition of a video game theme.  Sound stupid?  I told you I wouldn’t do justice describing this show.  It is absolutely fall-out-of-your-seat-funny.

Harris’s stand up, between music acts is just as funny, but don’t get me wrong when I said that this show is a throwback to the early days of Branson.  Harris is no toothless clown in baggy pants.  His humor is drawn from his days growing up in the Ozarks.  Harris is genuinely funny.  He doesn’t just tell funny jokes.  He is a story teller.  While I have no criticism of this part of the show, for I thoroughly enjoyed the stand up, I do have a suggestion.  If Harris would realize that the most humorous parts of his stand-up are the stories, and not the jokes, he could rise from the ranks of the standard funny man to the ranks of Will Rogers.

2012 Branson Passport Rating for Paul Harris and the Cleverlys (out of 5):

Family Friendly – 4

Entertaining – 5

Musical Abilities – 5

Vocal Abilities –  5

Professionalism – 5

Total Score – 4.8

Paul Harris and the Cleverlys perform at The White House Theatre in Branson, MO at 8pm (most nights).  For a complete schedule, go to http://paulharris.kungfubranson.com/show_dates.html.  Also check out: http://www.paulharriscomedy.com/ and http://thecleverlys.com/

“Take it to the Limit” – A Trip Down Memory Lane With the Eagles

There are a lot of impersonators in Branson.  You can’t sling a cat without hitting an Elvis.  Many of them are pretty good.  Many acts that people think are impersonators, however, are not that at all, rather many acts label themselves as tributes.  What’s the difference, you ask?  An impersonator takes on the persona of the original.  They not only attempt to sound like the original, they attempt to look like, dress like and speak like the original.  A tribute, though, is a totally different story.  In a tribute show, the talent does not pretend to channel the voice of the original.  They simply take you by the hand and lead you down memory lane. Of the many tribute shows in Branson, one of the most overlooked is, Take It To The Limit, a tribute to the Eagles.

Friday night, while the shuttle at the Dick Clark Theater was taxiing people from parking lots a quarter mile away and packing them into see Legends, the Eagles tribute at God and Country Theater drew barely a hundred people.  It is a shame that more people don’t know about the show, for it is one of the best tribute shows in Branson.

A fun thing about tribute shows: the audience usually doesn’t have to be prompted to sing along.  The Eagles tribute is no different; nearly every person in the audience knew the songs by heart.  The only exceptions were when, in the beginning of the second half of the show, the band presented two songs from the 2007 Eagles album, Long Road Out of Eden. It was my wish – and I believe many in the audience would agree – that they would have skipped the two newer songs, and sang the verses that they had omitted earlier in the show.  As fans, we are glad the Eagles reunited, glad they toured again, and we may have even bought their new album, but we came to hear the songs we grew up with, and we want to hear every word, even when it comes to Lyin’ Eyes, at 6:22 in length.

Most shows in Branson try to change things up from one year to the next, which may explain why the Eagles tribute added the two songs from the new album.  Cast and crew changes are inevitable, but can sometimes mean a bumpy start to a new season.  That happened this season.  Just two weeks into the beginning of April, the Eagles tribute still has bugs to work out.  The tech working the sound and lights seemed uncertain of himself, and lead singer, Jon Sousan (who does many of Don Henley’s parts) had to interrupt the show several times to give verbal assistance.  It didn’t make the show less enjoyable, but it was not professional.  With their cast changes came the loss of one vocal part.  The Eagles have always been noted for two things, twin lead guitars and five part harmony.  Larry Holiday is the finest guitar player in Branson, and one of the best in the world (He is as nearly as fun to watch as Joe Walsh when singing Walsh’s hits).  When the tribute band added Drew Webber this year, they got a guitar player who seems to have the potential to be Holiday’s peer, so they have the twin lead guitar thing covered.  They lost a vocalist, though, for Webber doesn’s sing. So they cannot duplicate the Eagles famous harmonies.  The show is still great, and still sounds good, but do me a favor, and put a dead mic on Webber and tell him to sing along.  At least I would think it is five part harmony.

I was glad to see Larry and Jon were still with the show, and I hope that inevitable cast changes never lead them away from this band. They are the band, and it is a great one.  That said, Larry and Jon are irreplaceable.  So, I was disappointed when Jon Sousan walked off the stage three or four songs before the finish.  He is their strongest voice and it is his love of the Eagles that shines through in the show.  So when a cocky, all too cute, and irritatingly smug former member of Country Tonight finished the second set for Jon who left the stage without explanation (Later, he told me his throat was irritated from allergies), I was extremely disappointed.  No one but Henley, himself, could finish a set for Jon.  Sousan neither mimics the Eagles’ lead singer nor tries to interpret him.  His voice is similar to Henley’s, so he sings it like Henley would, presenting their songs in a straight-forward manner.  Stepping out before his big finale, though (Hotel California and Desparado), Jon not let us down (unavoidable though it may have been), but he put a kid on stage who made himself the center of attention and not the music.  The kid cared only about putting his own interpretation on the music but didn’t care enough to memorize the lyrics.

Take It To The Limit is one of the best tributes in Branson, but Friday night’s show was not one of their best, by far.

2012 Branson Passport Rating for Take It To The Limit (out of 5):

Family Friendly – 5

Entertaining – 5

Musical Abilities – 5

Vocal Abilities –  5

Professionalism – 3

Total Score – 4.6

Take It To The Limit plays at God and Country Theatre in Branson, MO on Monday, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm.  Visit http://godandcountrytheatre.com/ or http://eaglesbranson.com/ 

Branson Devestated by Tornado

Updated 3/7/12:  Tim Haygood Says that The Americana Theater is set to re-open on April 15th.  Meanwhile, as scheduled, the Haygoods are “rocking it” every night at RFDTV, preparing segments for their show.

 

Feb. 29, 2012, 10:59 p.m.

Last week’s top story in the Branson Independent News spoke of the dire need for a facelift on 76 Country Music Boulevard, known to locals as “the strip.” Last night, the strip got that facelift. Yesterday evening, severe weather raced into Missouri from Kansas at over seventy miles per hour. Tornadoes spawned first in Lamar, Buffalo, and Lebanon, taking a life along the way. Another cell in the storm damaged Cassville, and Shell Knob. It was this storm that headed due east, dropping a tornado smack on the strip.

Driving the strip today, the damage was reminiscent of the damage in Joplin last May. It is more of a contrast than a comparison. The loss of life in Joplin is still palpable. So far as I know, no one lost their life in Branson. Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley said today that because the Joplin tragedy was so fresh on everyone’s mind, folks were quick to take shelter. She is probably right; many that I spoke with today told of hiding out in basements and crawling into bathtubs.

Hardly a business along the strip is unscathed. From the Branson Landing, west to the Jim Stafford Theater, roofs are missing or collapsed, or entire top floors have crumpled. Windows are shattered in condos above the stores at The Landing. It appears as if every window is out on the west side of The Hilton at the Branson Convention Center. There are reports of furniture being sucked out those windows. Today, drapes flap in the breeze. Driving west from the strip, one notices that the pylon sign in front of Wendy’s is gone.

Turning south from Wendy’s into the residential section just south of the strip, your heart sinks. Most of the homes in this section of town are damaged. One hundred year old trees have crushed cars and collapsed roofs. Power lines still crossed roads as of late this afternoon.

Tornadoes seem to have a mind of their own, picking and choosing which buildings to hit and which to miss. Across U.S. 65 on the strip, the Veterans’ Memorial Museum is devastated, and the Branson Mall, Walmart, and Jubilee Super Market are severely damaged. The Dick Clark Theater took a hit, but Dixie Stampede appears to have minor or no damage. Melody Lane Inn and its neighbor, 1st Inn both lost roofs, but the Baldknobbers’ Theater next door appears okay. A block to the north, the Plaza hotel, a tower property that sits further down the mountain, appears to have been spared. Next door to 1st Inn, Papa John’s and the Branson Variety Theatre have both lost roofs, though the majority of the damage at Branson Variety Theater seems to be in the lobby. Near the west end of the strip (and the beginning of the tornado’s path of destruction), the Blue Bayou Motel is utterly destroyed, but its sister motel, next door, the Caprice, appears to have far less damage. The Titanic seemed to be spared, but the nearby Best Western, The Hall of Fame Hotel, the Riverboat Inn, and Charlie’s Ribs have all suffered.

The real damage to Branson will be to the economy. Branson had hoped that this year would bring a comeback. The recession has been hard on Branson, especially on low-level hourly workers, those that work the front lines in the entertainment and hospitality industry. Even when the economy is good, working the front lines in Branson can mean a meager subsistence. For many, it means seasonal work, part-time work, or both. For many, front-line work means working two or three part-time jobs. Unemployment before the storm was at 9% in Taney and Stone County, but many of those had hopes of starting work in the next week or so. For some, that date may be pushed back a few weeks or even a few months while Branson rebuilds.

Branson is far from closed, though. Only half a dozen or so of Branson’s 50 theaters were damaged, some less than others. Those theaters, as of today’s reports, are The Owens Theater, The Dick Clark Theater, The Branson Variety Theatre, The Starlite Theatre, The Andy Williams Theater, The Icon Theater, The Americana Theater, and The Baldknobbers’ Theater. Much of the damage to some of these theaters was very minor. It is expected that all but The Branson Variety and The Dick Clark will be open in a matter of days.

About twenty hotels and motels in Branson were damaged, and some nearly destroyed. Besides the Blue Bayou and the Melody Lane Inn, other hotels with substantial damage include 1st Inn and the Hilton Hotel. The top floor of the four story Ozark Mountain Inn on the strip at Fall Creek Road was practically sheered off.

The storm gave the strip a facelift, or the beginnings of one, but it could have been much worse. Most of the Branson’s Theaters will be open and most (though not all) will open on time. Most of the hotels are undamaged. And, thank God, this tornado stuck on leap day, instead of three weeks later when hotels on the strip would have hosted many more guests.

Featured Blogs From the Past: SIX of TEN

I remember taking piano  lessons when I was a kid.  I remember writing my own songs at the age of seven or eight.  What I remember most, though, was that my piano teacher gave up teaching when she had a child.  The new teacher, in a dark, upstairs room overlooking the Ozark square, was about 90 years old, had rotting teeth, and ancient, wrinkled hands.  I never took another lesson.  Rare is the parent who can spot talent in a child.  Rarer still is the parent who can inspire a child to actively pursue their talent.  So, kudos to Arnold and (the late) Joyce Knudsen, the parents of Barry, Kevin,  Lynn, Jak, Owen, and Curtis Knudsen, better known as the Knudsen Brothers, or simply Six.

Six is comprised of the six oldest Knudsen Brothers (six of ten boys, no sisters); the four younger brothers are actively involved in the business, but do not perform on stage.  Six is back in Branson again this year, and are still at the Hughes Brothers’ Theater on West 76, less than a half mile west of the Titanic.  My wife and I took our grandson, Peyton, and our granddaughter, Marisa to the show.  It was a sell-out show, and we arrived late, so we were in the back row of the balcony, but even from there, the show was enjoyable.  Honestly, it was a hoot.

When my wife first suggested that we see Six, three years ago, I was not enthused.  The idea of an a cappella group didn’t thrill me.  Think Barbershop.  But, Six is as far removed from Barbershop music as The Black Eyed Peas are from Buddy Holly.  Six is truly enjoyable, and their show this year is even better than last years.

When one first hears Six, one wonders how they can harmonize so well.  Then, one wonders how the percussionist can do that “mouth thing” so well, for so long.  Then the next thing one thinks is, “How can they make it sound like they are backed by a band, when there are really no instruments?”  Then, one stops thinking about it, and simply enjoys the show.

The Knudsens give a nod to Sinatra, the Beach Boys, and to the songs they grew up with, and a good time is had by all, even my four and five year old grandchildren.  Even me.  This is one of my wife’s two favorite Branson shows, and in my top ten.  To my wife, Kathy, this is a show is a “MUST SEE.”