puddles pity party

i was recently introduced to puddles pity party via facebook through a dear old friend. i must say i was taken aback at the sheer brilliance of the look of the 1st video and didn’t have much time to hear his voice. i have viewed this vid several times now. with each viewing my appreciation and admiration has grown. there is the gentle giant quality in his persona mixed with the curiously horrific clown aspect to his persona. i am not sure what you might think, but i have instantly become a fan more than simply an onlooker. my feelings are mixed up and vibrant every time i watch him. see (and hear) what you think. you can check out more info on puddles at the website www.puddlespityparty.com

or here is what the lehigh valley music review had to say:

John Holmstrom, editor of the long-gone Punk magazine, once ruminated on the sly sophistication under punk rock music’s violent veneer, and how that let the genre be enjoyed both intellectually and  viscerally.

“It takes a lot of intelligence to enjoy punk, “ he said. “Or, better yet, none at all.”

Puddles the Clown at Musikfest Cafe Chris Knight/Special to The Morning Call

The same argument applied to Puddles Pity Party, the 7-foot sad clown with the golden voice who drew what appeared to be approaching 1,000 people Friday in a packed Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center as part of Bethlehem’s Musikfest festival. (ArtsQuest President Jeff Parks was among them.)

The act, which blew up on YouTube this year with a performance of Lorde’s “Royals” that now has more than 8 million views, is a surprisingly developed comedy routine, with singer/actor Big Mike Geier having impeccable timing and a brilliant sense of the absurd. (Geier, by the way, really is nearly 7 feet tall.)

But those who laughed too much during the show’s 15 songs – which Puddles sang alone to recorded music — might have missed what a stunningly good voice he has.

It was obvious from the opening of the “The Star Spangled Banner,” and easily carried a great baritone rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” that soared at the end and Tom Jones’ “I (Who Have Nothing).”

Of course, part of that was because Puddles’ comic routine continued as he sang – confrontationally approaching people in the crowd, singing to men then kissing them on the head, rubbing peoples’ hair then smelling his white-gloved hand, tossing used tissues into the crowd , or simply acting overly dramatic while singing.

Brian Hineline/Special to The Morning Call

At an hour long, with humor broad enough to be accepted by more than the fans of the esoteric YouTube videos, the show could easily play major venues.

Several gags were laugh-out-loud funny: Puddles bringing up three audience members at different parts of the show to put party hats on them, give them a balloon and sing “Happy Birthday, Kevin” to all three (the woman most definitely was not named Kevin, and the little boy’s protests – as Puddles put his hand over the boy’s mouth — was priceless.)

But sly asides were sometimes just as funny: When he brought up a man to sing karoke to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and grimaced and wavered his hand in reaction to the performance….. click here for the rest of the lehigh valley music review.

#clowns #music #puddlespityparty