The zany musical duo Polygraph Lounge will appear nightly at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9 in the Carleton College Concert Hall. Called “vibrantly screwy” by Time Out New York, the duo will perform “Live From Brooklyn,” a rib-tickling musical rollercoaster in the spirit of Spike Jones, Victor Borge, PDQ Bach, and Weird Al Yankovic—and featuring Carleton students and an audience noseflute choir (the community is invited to “BYON.”) Performances are free and open to the public.
Based in New York City, Polygraph Lounge is Rob Schwimmer (piano, theremin, vocals) and Mark Stewart (guitar, vocals, cello). The two describe Polygraph Lounge as “inspired lunacy/anarchy fired from a veritable arsenal of original instruments & vocal stylings…. (They) strip-mine the common cultural currency of yesterday, today & tomorrow, engineering an epic sonic train wreck aimed directly at the funny bone of us all…. High brow, Low brow, Uni-brow! Inna Gadda Da Vida as Gregorian Chant, Led Zeppelin meets Aaron Copland, an audience of hundreds of nostrils flaring and blaring on nose flutes in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly while the ph'Lounge soars over the top in the surf guitar paradise that is Tchaikowsky's Swan Lake.”
PDQ Bach composer Peter Schickele calls Polyphonic Lounge, "Mind-numbing virtuosity and rib-tickling wit... They take words and music apart and put them back together in astonishing and hilariously unexpected ways." And the New York Times says, "Mad genius should always be this fun!"
Polygraph Lounge will also be joined by frequent collaborator Melissa Fathman (soprano). The Friday, May 8 concert will feature a performance of David Lang’s death speaks, featuring guest violinist Hector Valdivia, professor and director of the Carleton Orchestra. The Saturday, May 9 concert will be a fun-filled and humorous musical cabaret, along with select Carleton students and a “few surprise guest artists.”
Polygraph Lounge has worked with Paul Simon, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Kurt Vonnegut, Burt Bacharach, Muddy Waters, Vernon Reid, John Cale, Sammy Davis Jr., Bette Midler, Bruce Springsteen, Queen Latifah, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, and many others. More at www.polygraphlounge.com.
This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Department of Music, with support from the Christopher U. Light Concert & Lectureship Series, created in 1985 by Mr. Light, a member of the Carleton Class of 1958. The Concert Hall is located on First Street, between Nevada and Winona Streets in Northfield. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4475.
