Philharmonic, Jeans ‘n Classics ‘Bond’ with audience

Reviewed by Barb Van Atta

Double entendres. Derring-do. Dastardly seekers of world domination. All are trademarks of Bond, James Bond, movies.

And so is the music, both the instantly recognizable John Barry theme and the string of title tunes sung by the voice du jour.

Saturday night (Dec. 4), the Binghamton Philharmonic and Maestro Jose-Luis Novo transported their Pops Series audience from The Forum in Binghamton to a world tour of exotic Bond locales. We didn’t wear tuxes or quaff martinis, but we definitely were both shaken and stirred by the Pops’ third successful teaming with the Canadian artists of Jeans ‘n Classics. The folks who previously fronted Pops performances of Beatles and Elton John music offered a collection of Bond themes (and a few songs from the Austin Powers Bond spoofs) interspersed with emcee/pianist John Regan’s clever commentary. Regan’s remarks, a combination of Bond trivia and bonding with the audience, elicited a constant stream of chuckles (and an occasional guffaw) from his listeners.