Review: THE BEAN TONES LIVE! at Birdland A Breath of Fresh Air

During their opening remarks at their Birdland concert on Monday night, the men of THE BEAN TONES thanked the audience for coming to their first-ever sold-out show.  Seven years, The Bean Tones have been singing together, and the October 20th concert was their first-ever sold-out show, and it was their New York City debut, and it was at Birdland.  Heck of a coming out party, eh?   Well, it was, and you can take my word for it because I had a perfect view of the stage and of the room, and I can tell you two things: The Bean Tones should have been playing sold-out shows for a while, and they will be playing to sold-out houses, moving forward.  Not only were the four gentlemen of the vocal group sensational, but the audience reaction to them was raucously well deserved.  It was a most auspicious debut.

The Bean Tones (Chris Peters, James Gillen, Grant Heineman, and David Kingston) met in college, formed their group, and have been singing together, in some format or another, these last seven years, and while their styles and sounds have changed, so has their relationship, and, during their curtain call thank yous, it was made clear that they are four best friends living their best lives.  They are also making the best music.  You know, vocal groups can be a hard sell.  It has to be a sound you’re into, it has to be a style you want to listen to, it has to be your thing… and if it isn’t your thing, the group has to be good enough to grab you and, possibly, make it your thing.  The Bean Tones are good enough to make a person who was not previously into vocal groups log onto YouTube or Spotify or Google to investigate - if not the vocal group genre, at least more of this vocal group.

The Bean Tones have a magnificent ability with their music.  They are singing mostly covers, though they did present some original material on Monday night, and that’s valuable because when a musical artist or artists presents their own compositions, their own stories, their own individuality, it ups the ante.  These are now THEIR songs, and, as the original creators, the audiences will come directly to them for more.  And even better news for The Bean Tones, their original material is good.  It fits right in with their covers, and covers are equally important as original compositions because one of the benefits, indeed one of the thrills, of listening to a vocal group is seeing what they do with your personal favorite.   For example, among their cover work at their Birdland concert, The Bean Tones performed songs like “Day By Day” (not the Stephen Schwartz one, the Sammy Cahn one),  “A - You’re Adorable,” “Day In, Day Out,” “My Romance,” “Time After Time” (not the Cyndi Lauper one, the Jule Styne one), and “Candy,” and each and every treatment was impressive.  But an impressive arrangement only takes you so far, the rest of the effort has to come from the artists themselves, and, in that, the men of The Bean Tones really deliver.  The harmonies these men are singing are so tight as to make a person laugh out loud with glee.  Their four voices blend together so beautifully that it’s like the melding of spices in a mulled wine.  There were actually moments (several of them) throughout the show when enthusiastic and appreciative cries of “YEAH!’ and “WOW” and “WOOT!” could be heard around the room.  There was an abundance of applause, both during and after each performance, and from my seat on the raised second row of the auditorium, I took much pleasure in taking my eyes off the boys and scanning the room to see the reactions of the people.  Rapt attention was paid, huge smiles beamed, and heads shook as cheers of joy rang in the air.  It is most satisfying to see an audience embrace a new act so zealously.  Thank goodness for Birdland for continuing to seek out and present new artists to this city, and thank goodness for Jim Caruso for, so ardently, going in search of new artists for the club. 

The gentlemen of the group were generous in their Birdland debut, too.  They took advantage of their presence on the stage to welcome a couple of friends to show their artistry by inviting saxophonist Sasha Ripley to sit in for “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and singer Alex Baird to join in on “Look For The SIlver Lining” - both their guest artists brought something fresh and special to the proceedings, and even though The Bean Tones are enough on their own, who doesn’t want an exquisite sax solo in the middle of a show, or a girl singer with a boy group backing her up?  The inclusion of the guests was a wise move, and an enjoyable one.   Also enjoyable was a wonderful segment when the gents set aside their instruments and performed a Barbershop Quartet set, for it was singing Barbershop that started off this viral vocal group.  It’s always fun to hear a good Barbershop Quartet, and it was pretty nifty getting to hear the isolated vocals, but there is no denying the lift that their proficiency with their instruments brings to their program of jazz arrangements, a program that was a pleasure to witness, from tip to tail.  Particular highlights included their rendition of The Four Freshmen classic “Fools Rush In,” “Lulu’s Back in Town,” the aforementioned “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and an original piece by Misters Kingston and Heineman called “Day Into Night,” but the truth is that those are MY highlights.  It was pretty clear that something different in each moment of the evening resonated differently with various audience members… the piano solo during “Poinciana,” or the good-natured playfulness the Bean besties exhibit, or James taking the lead on “My Romance,” or just the purity of the voices.  There was something for everyone at this show.

There is more to The Bean Tones than just their music, though, and it is worth noting that, while the music is the foundation of their work, they have developed a right proper act.  There is conversation used to introduce each of the men to the crowd, and to personalize their presence on the stage. Some of the conversation is quite earnest and honest, but a lot of it is their act, and it is right that they should have created an act, because the Bean boys are funny.  Each one has a quirk or a wink or a grin that comes out, in order to show the audience a slice of each man, and the four of them have worked it all out for maximum laugh factor.  Some of the act is cheeky, some of it is tongue-in-cheeky, and some of it is corn, right off the cob, and it all serves the act perfectly, the way a group should have an act.  In the first part of the last century (and stretching a little bit into the second half, say, the Sixties), there were groups, there were teams, there were Acts.  They were the Vaudevillians that made variety shows out of their talent and their talk.  Today, there are people who walk up onto a stage and play their instrument, or sing their song, and just blab at us, and isn’t that nice.  But going out for a night of theater, an evening of cabaret, an adventure in a nightclub, should have a sense of occasion, and that is what The Bean Tones are providing their audience.   They have their songs, they have their voices, they have their (sort of insane) skill at multiple instruments, and they have the ability to write their own songs… and they have their Act.  And it’s a good one, worthy of repeat visits to Birdland, to New York City, and to clubs all around the world.  The Bean Tones are going places, and it was a pleasure to be there at the beginning, at the Birdland, and at the very first sold-out show.

Find great shows to see on the Birdland website HERE.

THIS is the website for The Bean Tones.

Visit the guest artists websites.  Sashy Ripley HERE and Alex Baird HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher