Review: Mx. Justin Vivian Bond Brings In The Spring With More Marys Than You Can Shake A Mary At, With OH MARY, IT'S SPRING! At Joe's Pub

Heigh-Ho, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Bobby Patrick your RAINBOW Reviewer here. Putting the silent T in cabareT to bring you all the T!

So, my dearlings, Joe's pub was packed and all a dither for the return of Justin Vivian Bond with their OH MARY, IT'S SPRING rock concert. Famous for their creation with Kenny Mellman of the offbeat cabaret cum Broadway-bound lounge act Kiki & Herb Alive On Broadway, Kiki & Herb The Second Coming, Kiki & Herb Seeking Asylum, and Kiki & Herb ... who knows...ummm Meet Abbott & Costello presumably, Bond appeared solo with their new seasonal concert, OH MARY, IT'S SPRING! On a whim, this statuesque trans-warrior goddess decided to concoct a show all about MARY. Mary who? We hear you ask, well just about ANY Mary that would sit still long enough for Bond to grab the song with their name in it, or one that was written by someone named Mary, or by a composer from the lady's home state of MARYland - who knows really because, as they told the adoring crowd on the night, JVB just put the word MARY into their SPOTIFY search and they were off to the rando-setlist-races. Now whether this was a wise or desperate idea from which to build your entire 80-minute set for the legendary pub's stage, what they wound up with from all their Mary Mining was a whole lot of gold. Whether it was their opening ALONG COMES MARY followed by the pot anthem Mary Jane or Mary MacGregor's TORN BETWEEN TWO LOVERS, Mx. Bond's hard, sharp, powerful bass-baritone rock and roll voice made each one a proud Mary (see what Bobby did there?)

Highlight of this very Mary night though was their rendition of Mary Gauthier's "Mercy Now" sung in memory of Bond's own estranged, deceased father. The musically haunting tune calling for mercy for all from church to country gave JVB a chance to show their heart as well as their rock ballad chops in ways reminiscent of Springsteen - bridging the gap from the rural to urban heartbreaks of trans children wherever they might have grown up. Wrapping their show with MARY ON A CROSS by Swedish heavy metal band GHOST brought out the rock assault vibe that allowed this (soon to be) 59-year-old singer to show their pipes at full strength, and then, following that up with IT's MAY from CAMELOT as an encore after explaining that Vanessa Redgrave sang it in the film version of the Broadway play and that she had once played MARY Queen Of Scots was just the kind of crazy town cherry that this Mary Cake needed. While hard rock and roll has never been Bobby's cup of tea, we have to admit that Justin Vivan Bond's charm, talent, and ability to make us wonder if TRANS-ROCK could actually be a thing, we must admit we had a terrific time and so, piling it all up on THIS Mary's back we must give this rock & roll evening a solid...

4 Out Of 5 Rainbows. Check this one out for sure.

The Show Runs Another Week 5/10-15 And You Can Get Your Tickets: HERE

You can Track All Things JVB from Their Website: HERE

All Photos By Yours Truly, Bobby Patrick

To post a comment, you must register and login.