Postmodern Jukebox Rocks Out the Orpheum

There’s a fine line between camp and homage. Richard Cheese is by far the definition of Camp, while Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) is a shout out to yesterday and way before. Both Cheese and Postmodern enjoy taking on some silly and off the wall songs, PMJ has found a way to make them elegant. Sunday night’s show at the Orpheum was a classy journey down memory lane and all at the same time a harkening to the present. The band somehow takes the heart of a vaudevillian act and modernizes it to the point that it may take a few moments to recognize what covers they are doing. The simple beauty in the show is their ability to take a song you may not like and make you like it.  While I’m not a huge fan of a lot of today pop artists, PMH has managed to take the sting off my dislike. Bieber, Hanson, Swift, and Gaga all had their moments, but the evening belong to Haley Reinhart with her amazing rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” and her interesting take on The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army.”