SIX and Rankin - Brother are they good!

This is quite a busy week so we decided to break the blog entry into two segments starting with our last days in Branson. As I mentioned last week, we were going to see the other show discounted for $10, and it definitely did not disappoint. Voted the Best New Show of 2008, the Rankin Brothers (www.therankins.net/home.php) generally perform classic songs from the 50s through the 90s, but with it being the Christmas season, songs from the latter two decades were scratched and replaced with holiday songs in the second half of the show. Matt and Mark Rankin create a very enjoyable and entertaining show spanning the decades with songs by Neil Diamond, the Righteous Brothers, Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, and many more. Accompanying them are five band members and three lady backup singers called the Rankinettes, who perform all the moves of typical backup singing groups and have excellent voices. They perform some “girl group” numbers and even do a couple solos. Matt performed a dead-on impersonation of Buddy Holly, and Mark with one of the Rankinettes performed Sonny & Cher’s “I’ve Got You Babe”. And what show would be complete without a performance by the King of rock and roll…Elvis! Mark opened his impersonation with “Heartbreak Hotel”, then sang the very touching “In the Ghetto”, and ended with “An American Trilogy” complete with a beautiful replica of the eagle cape. The second half of the show opens as a senior prom in 1965 at a hotel ballroom, and when they sang “Let’s Do the Twist”, several audience members got up and danced in front of the stage! (No, I wasn’t one of them.) After the “prom” they ventured into the Christmas season, then into some gospel songs, one of which was called “The Anchor Holds” that was beautifully sung as a tribute to our service men and women. The brothers play off each other very well and add comedic touches throughout the whole show. If you enjoy all those classic songs, this is a great show to see.











Now on to something quite phenomenal. Russ had told me to pick out whatever show I’d like to see, and after looking at all the brochures, I had decided on SIX (http://www.thesixshow.com/). From what I read they were six brothers who sing a cappella (absolutely no instruments) but it sounds like they have a full band backing them up. Sounded right up my alley…I love a cappella harmony. Plus when we asked a restaurant cashier what show she would go see if she could only see one, without hesitating or batting an eye she said SIX. Well, here’s what I’ve got say after seeing them yesterday….WOW!!!!!! They were absolutely awesome!! Russ and I have seen many performers on Broadway and in Las Vegas, even big names, and these guys are far and away one of the best shows we’ve ever seen. You can listen to snippets of a couple songs on their website but what you hear does not compare with the live performance and doesn't do them justice. Their voices are powerful and they have an energetic, electrifying stage presence. The instruments onstage are for decoration only; all percussion and backup is generated with their own voices and have been dubbed an “orchestra of human voices”. The incredible harmonies, astonishing vocal ranges, tight choreography, comedic banter, and pure showmanship captivate the audience. The songs ran the gamut….Motown, Beach Boys, Frankie Valli, doowop, gospel, Christmas, and so much more. There is so much going on all the time that this show never, ever runs the risk of being called boring. They are actually six brothers (six of ten, no sisters) who have been singing since they were little and performed for several years in Las Vegas before coming to Branson two years ago. In 2007 they were voted Best New Show, and just last week they were voted Best Show in Branson for 2008!

Russ and I even got to be part of the show! One of the brothers, Jak, was doing his Enrique Iglesias vocal impersonation (he’s bald and looks nothing like him) singing “Hero” when he came out into the audience. We were seated in row 10 with Russ in the aisle seat. Jak stopped at our row, asked Russ his name, and asked him if he’d like to do something special for his lady. He persuaded Russ to get up and acted as though he was going to take him up onstage, when he suddenly turned around and sat down next to me in Russ’ seat! He asked me my name, asked a couple more questions, and then asked if I’d ever had a hot, sweaty, bald man sing a love song to me before, and when I said no, they put a spotlight on Russ who was standing over at the side of the theater! LOL A couple songs later, they said they were going to throw out one of each of their 3 CDs to lucky audience members. As Curtis was saying this and holding up the one called “Live Wired”, Jak came up from behind him, grabbed it from his hand, and as he was whispering Susan into the microphone, ran down the aisle and gave it to me! OK, this gets even better. The last song they did before intermission was “Shout”, and at the point where you “get a little softer now”, they were eventually all lying on the stage floor. Then they were saying who out in the audience can get all the way down, and some teenagers seated down our row were getting down on the floor, but then you could hear Jak say “Russ, how low can you go? Come get on down for Susan.”, and Russ slid down low in his seat. But I guess they must have seen him from where they were or something because Jak said, “No, not just sliding down in your seat. You can get lower than that. Do it for Susan.” And believe it or not (I did get a photo), my husband actually got out in the aisle and laid down on the floor with the spotlight shining on him!!! Scott was seated on the other side of me and was really glad he had not been in the aisle seat! At intermission they came out front and were signing autographs, so of course I had to get my CD signed. And when Jak saw me he wrote an extra note “To Russ & Susan, All Our Best!” Russ tried to get a picture, but it blurred. The second half of the show was Christmas, gospel, a tribute to our veterans, and just as great as the first half. If you ever get to Branson (or anywhere they might be performing), SIX is a definite MUST SEE!!

Today is Thanksgiving and shortly we will be driving about 120 miles north to spend the day with Russ' nephew and family. More on that and the upcoming MU/KU game later this week. In the meantime don't eat too much and have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving.