Wednesday, January 6,1999

    Patrick Franz, Michael Norris, David Springhorn, Jonathan Graff, Damien Elwood. All innocent enough names except possible the last one. Maybe in the real world, at home or at their jobs they are innocent, but when they put on plaid and join on stage there is nothing innocent about them, for these are “The Sons of Anacreon.” Children should be kept in bedrooms, women should be on guard and men need to be on a constant state of alert.  Actually their show made for one of the funniest, warmest, most captivating evenings of song and merriment I've experienced.

      “The Sons of Anacreon" sing mostly a capella, old world songs about decadence, debauchery and of course drinking.  They sing well. They sing very well. Often comedians are not given their due in the basic skills department. Each performer takes a turn on lead vocals and all fill a specific place on the vocal spectrum.  The harmonies are lush when needed, soured for dramatic effect and always used to forward the story of the song as opposed to showing off the tricks they can do. As the night continues each "Son" starts to develop a persona that also makes the performance a play done in about 25 acts with each song being the next act.
    The audience gets involved as well. A scantily clad vixen with a pointer is stationed at an easel with the words to each song on it. The crowd is instructed what to sing and when. Admonished when they do wrong, cheered when they succeed and chastised when they do nothing. As you experience the chaotic abandon of these plaid clad lads, you realize that what you are seeing is a very well thought out, well-rehearsed show. This is a professional act.
    They are pros. A couple of the group work in the entertainment department at Universal Studios. One works for the Renaissance Fairs and another is an Opera Dude.  They have been doing this together for over two years. “The Sons of Anacreon" are named after an ancient Greek poet who was the first to write about wine, women and song.  There is a club with the same name in England dedicated to wit, harmony and the god of wine. They do shows at the Renaissance Fairs, The John Bull Pub in Pasadena and play the first Thursday of every month at Q's Riverbottom across from the Warner Bros. Studios on Olive and Barham here in Burbank, including this Thursday, January 7 at 8:00pm.
You may contact "The Sons of Anacreon" at their web site, http://glyfix.com/soa.
    See the show. Cyberspace just does not compare to the sweat and spit of this totally entertaining group.  Your cheeks will be pink from laughter whether you toast with whiskey or lemonade. Do not miss "The Sons of Anacreon.”

    Hard to believe but this fine looking group of upstanding gentlemen will lead the unsuspecting crowd at Q's Riverbottom (4201 W Olive Avenue) in Irish drinking songs of decadence and debauchery on the first Thursday of every month from 8: 00 pm till they drop! Hard to believe.
 
 

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