Throughout the evening, the stage was pelted with stuffed animals in tribute to the many animal references in his songs. The high point came almost an hour in while Paul & Storm were on stage helping out with harmonies on "Creepy Doll." Paul noted that a newly thrown animal had a message asking if Coulton would you play his bachelor party for a trip to Vegas, complete with gambling per diem and buffet coupons. When Coulton told the prospective groom to send him an e-mail about it, the man replied that Neil Diamond told him the same thing. That led to an impromptu sing-along of "Sweet Caroline" that brought down the house.
The pairing is a perfect fit. Their humor complements each other very well. Paul & Storm are broad, with plenty of puns, dirty jokes and pop culture references. But they do it in a manner that still has respect for the audience's intelligence. Coulton, on the other hand, is more subtle. Imagine a movie where Tom Lehrer provides the soundtrack for a Douglas Adams screenplay directed by Billy Wilder.
Also, musically, both acts come from similar backgrounds in a capella (Coulton was a member of The Whiffenpoofs while at Yale), so when they sit in on the other's set, as they frequently do, their voices blend exceptionally well. You can also see that they've become good friends in the time they've spent traveling together.
The biggest problem faced by most comedic musicians is that after a while the jokes cease to be funny because the listener loses the sense of surprise. But Jonathan Coulton's and Paul & Storm's works hold up to repeated listening because they're also very well-written songs, with solid melodies, rich harmonies and perfect pop choruses. The songs also translate to live settings because there are always a few people who are hearing them for the first time, and their laughter becomes infectious. And both acts are very skilled at bringing the audience into the show through stage banter. Don't miss this show when it comes to your town.
Article comments
1 - Anna Creech
Yay! Awesome! Wish I could have been there.
2 - Gina
Fantastic concert. I had a blast!
But it was the 31st, not the 13th, as the title says.