Madcap jugglers the Flying Karamazov Brothers, above, return in coming days to the Count Basie stage, as does frequent Red Bank guest Lyle Lovett, this time with John Hiatt, below. Â
With a seemingly non-stop parade of showbiz attractions making their entrances and exits to and from the famous stage of Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre, maintaining such a busily dizzying schedule can be a juggling act in itself. Here in a week that’s seen the scrubbing of one slated event — the comedic classical musicians Igudesman and Joo —  and the lightning-fast sellout of next Friday’s concert by Dire Straits founder Mark Knopfler, the show goes on, with the plate-spinning speed and mind-boggling eclecticism of a vintage Ed Sullivan telecast.
Returning to the area for a family-friendly matinee this Sunday is an act and an institution that’s not-so quietly outlasted generations’ worth of entertainment fads and flashes-in-pan: the comic juggling juggernaut known as the Flying Karamazov Brothers.
Wowing crowds of all ages with an amped-up mix of classic sideshow skills, slapstick comedy, absurdist theater and (what can only be called the lighter side of) dance, the relentlessly touring “Brothers” proudly exhibit traces of their origins at a 1973 California Renaissance Faire — and while the road since then has brought them to Broadway, the movies (Jewel of the Nile) and countless TV appearances, the live-wire stage remains the medium with which to best make their acquaintance. Reserve tickets to Sunday’s 3 pm show ($25 – $30) right here — and read on for more.
He grew up on a ranch outside of Houston — and while he’s continued to make his home on the range, Lyle Lovett has found something of a Jersey Shore getaway in the venerable venue on Monmouth Street, where his nearly annual appearances have seen the singer-songwriter and actor with the 10-gallon hair come to town in the company of his Large Band, his Small Band, and even occasionally as an acoustic solo. It’s in that stripped-down and unplugged context that the Grammy winner returns on the evening of Tuesday, October 13 — this time in the equally formidable company of musician’s musician and songwriter’s songwriter John Hiatt.
The two veteran recording artists have each forged careers rooted in a common disdain for Nashville fashion and Billboard bubbles; slow-cooking their way into a dedicated foundation of fandom, while many of their contemporaries have been put out to oldies-circuit pasture or found themselves gored on the pointed ends of their multiple CMA awards.
Tuesday’s 8 pm show promises to find the co-headliners working the room, and doing what they do so well: Lovett jumping the wire fences between country, pop, jazz, gospel and Western swing with the facility that’s seduced movie stars and music lovers alike; Hiatt drawing from a catalog that goes all the way back to Three Dog Night’s “Sure As I’m Sittin’ Here” right on up to a hypercurrent run of celebrated Americana albums — a treasure trove of music that’s been embraced at various times by fans of folk, blues, country, and college radio alt-rock (the concert is being presented by Brookdale-based 90.5 The Night). Take it here for tickets to the 8 pm show ($30 – $89.50) — and monitor the Basie’s website for new schedule adds, plus details on upcoming shows featuring the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (October 18), America’s Got Talent Live (October 20), Loreena McKennitt (October 22) and many others.
